tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/urban-agriculture-5240/articlesUrban agriculture – The Conversation2018-04-18T13:35:20Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/941862018-04-18T13:35:20Z2018-04-18T13:35:20ZInvasive alien plants in South Africa pose huge risks, but they can be stopped<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/215157/original/file-20180417-30574-yoweaz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A massive wildfire on the Garden Route fuelled by invasive alien trees.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Henry Cunningham</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>There is a massive army marching across South Africa. It’s silent and looks harmless, but it’s growing by the day. It’s depleting the country’s <a href="http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S1816-79502016000400017&amp;script=sci_arttext&amp;tlng=es">water supply</a>, intensifying <a href="https://www.gardenrouterebuild.co.za/2017/10/15/garden-route-post-fire-plant-regrowth-patterns/">wildfires</a>, reducing <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21513732.2018.1450291">agricultural productivity</a> and threatening globally significant <a href="https://theconversation.com/invasive-plants-have-a-much-bigger-impact-than-we-imagine-82181">biodiversity</a>. This is South Africa’s unwanted army of over 380 <a href="http://www.invasives.org.za/">invasive alien plant species</a>.</p>
<p>Invasive alien species are a threat to human livelihoods and biodiversity <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms12485">globally</a>. In South Africa, they <a href="http://www.dwaf.gov.za/wfw/docs/VanWilgenetal.,2001.pdf">cost the economy</a> billions annually in lost productivity and funds spent on control programmes like <a href="https://www.environment.gov.za/projectsprogrammes/wfw">Working for Water</a>. Experts have <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877343515000962">advised</a> that to get on top of the problem, intensified control efforts are needed. There is also a need to change existing programmes including increased funding, better prioritisation, more integrated control strategies and less bureaucratic interference. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320716302324">Studying</a> the best ways of managing these species is also important for better control strategies.</p>
<p>All land owners should be aware of any invasives on their properties. <a href="https://www.environment.gov.za/sites/default/files/legislations/nemba_invasivespecies_controlguideline.pdf">Control plans</a> must be implemented, and easy-to-eradicate <a href="https://www.gardenrouterebuild.co.za/2017/11/07/invasive-plants-making-a-comeback-we-need-to-act-now/">emerging invasions</a> should be targeted. Taking action now means saving money and effort: the longer such invasions are left to establish themselves, the more difficult and expensive removal becomes. </p>
<h2>Green water guzzlers</h2>
<p>Invasives steadily diminish water resources, as they typically use significantly <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25935861">more water</a> than native vegetation. Across the country, invasives reduce mean annual runoff by <a href="http://www.wrc.org.za/Lists/Knowledge%20Hub%20Items/Attachments/11818/3256%20abstract.pdf">1.4 billion m3 (3%)</a> - the equivalent of 577 600 Olympic size swimming pools.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/215158/original/file-20180417-30606-1nngxj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/215158/original/file-20180417-30606-1nngxj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An easy-to-eradicate emerging Eucalyptus invasion.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stephen Cousins</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The importance of alien clearing as part of good catchment management has <a href="https://journals.co.za/content/sajsci/93/9/AJA00382353_104">long been recognised</a>, but with the severe three-year drought in the Cape, fully addressing this issue is now vital. A 2016 study on the impact of invasives on the Western Cape Water Supply System indicated that they reduce water yields by <a href="https://www.westerncape.gov.za/eadp/sites/eadp.westerncape.gov.za/files/Le%20Maitre%20Investment%20in%20ecological%20infrastructure%20FINAL_Le%20Maitre.pdf">38 million m3 per annum</a>, which equates to losing the entire Wemmershoek Dam annually.</p>
<p>Cape Town recently felled 50 hectares of <a href="https://www.da.org.za/municipality-news/removal-alien-vegetation-wemmershoek-dam-will-help-city-save-water-stretch-supply/">city-owned pine plantations</a>. There are also plans to fell another 110 hectares, which will result in daily savings of about one million litres. But much larger-scale clearing is needed to make more substantial gains.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.environment.gov.za/projectsprogrammes/wfw">Working for Water</a>, which controls invasives countrywide while facilitating job creation, has cleared 2.5 million hectares of invasions since its inception, but this is only <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877343515000962">a fraction</a> of the invaded area. Experts have recommended <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877343515000962">several changes</a> to this programme. These include sufficient funding for planning, monitoring and evaluation, increased operational flexibility, and integration with fire management. </p>
<h2>Enemies of biodiversity</h2>
<p>South Africa is remarkably biodiverse, and the Cape Floristic Region – <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1007">a World Heritage Site</a> containing the unique fynbos biome – is famed for having one of the highest concentrations of plant species per unit area <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320702004251">globally</a>.
Two-thirds of the region’s 9000 plant species are found <a href="https://www.sanbi.org/sites/default/files/documents/documents/strelitzia-29-2012.pdf">nowhere else on earth</a>, and no less than <a href="http://www.sanbi.org/links/red-list-south-africa-plants">2000</a> of these species are <a href="https://journals.co.za/content/royalsa/71/3/EJC195959">threatened with extinction by invasives</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/215159/original/file-20180417-163975-smp126.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/215159/original/file-20180417-163975-smp126.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Severe soil erosion caused by a Eucalyptus invasion in endangered fynbos on Groenberg, Wellington.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stephen Cousins</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Alarmingly, over two-thirds of the Cape’s protected areas are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320716302324">invaded by aliens</a>, and the forest, grassland and thicket biomes also have extensive invasions. The success of invasives results from their ability to out-compete local flora and alter the environment to suit themselves. Fynbos, for example, depends on fire at appropriate intervals to stimulate regeneration through <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1046/j.1526-100X.1999.72015.x">flowering and germination</a>. Post-fire fynbos recovery depends heavily on seed germination. While invasives’ seeds often tolerate alien-fueled fires, these severe infernos can <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1046/j.1442-9993.2002.01164.x">kill fynbos seeds</a>, which <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0254629915301691">severely compromises</a> natural vegetation recovery.</p>
<p>Some invasives change soil chemistry, resulting in soils unsuitable for indigenous species. Eucalyptus trees release <a href="http://www.publish.csiro.au/bt/BT9900245">chemicals</a> which inhibit indigenous plant growth and may result in severe erosion due to the lack of native vegetation cover. Many Australian Acacias <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1061-2971.2004.00289.x">alter soil chemistry</a> by <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1061-2971.2004.00289.x">enriching it with nitrogen</a>. This is a major problem in some critically endangered fynbos types adapted to nutrient-poor soils. </p>
<h2>Fire lighters and fuels</h2>
<p>Many of South Africa’s vegetation types are <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Brian_Van_Wilgen2/publication/283313528_Drivers_ecology_and_management_of_fire_in_fynbos/links/581ad55e08aeffb2941337f4/Drivers-ecology-and-management-of-fire-in-fynbos.pdf">dependent on fire</a>. However, invasives may alter natural fire regimes through changes to the flammable biomass. The most problematic invasives in fynbos are trees and shrubs, for example pines and Australian Acacias that are larger than the native shrublands. Fuel loads can increase by up to 60% in <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2403243?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">invaded fynbos</a>, which could then support <a href="https://www.fs.fed.us/postfirevegcondition/documents/publications/keeley_ijwf_2009.pdf">higher intensity fires</a>. </p>
<p>Other fuel attributes of invasives, like moisture content, chemical composition and fuel structure also <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10530-011-0001-3">affect fire behaviour</a>. The fuel moisture contents of some invasives may be higher than that of fynbos. But under extreme fire danger weather conditions, the increased fuel loads
associated with the invasions may still result in elevated fire intensity. </p>
<p>South Africa’s Garden Route on the south coast of the country is home to indigenous forests, fire-prone fynbos shrublands
and fire-sensitive plantations of <a href="http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?pid=S0038-23532011000500011&amp;script=sci_arttext&amp;tlng=en">invasive alien trees</a>. Ongoing research shows that fire intensities during the <a href="https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/deadly-knysna-blazes-not-started-deliberately-fire-chief-20170814">2017 Knysna fires</a> were higher in pine plantations and invasions than in uninvaded fynbos. Over half the total area burned consisted of invasives and this likely increased the overall fire severity. </p>
<p>Invasives also threaten infrastructure at the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112712006561">urban-wildland interface</a>. In the <a href="https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Cape-Town-fire-out-20150309">March 2015 Cape Peninsula fires</a>, all properties that were badly damaged were adjacent to stands of invasives. Increased fire intensities fuelled by invasives may also damage soils and worsen erosion. After the <a href="https://www.fire.uni-freiburg.de/iffn/country/za/za_14.htm">2000 Cape Peninsula fires</a>, soil loss was <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03736245.1998.9713644?journalCode=rsag20">60 times higher</a> in pine plantations than in adjacent fynbos. </p>
<p>Invasives often alter fire regimes to suit themselves leading to more invasions - a process known as <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/54/7/677/223532">feedbacks</a>. However, fire is an important management tool when used in prescribed burns, and experts recommend that fire be increasingly <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320716302324">integrated into invasive alien control programmes</a>. </p>
<h2>Working together to solve the problem</h2>
<p>The problem is huge and complex, but it <a href="http://researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace/bitstream/handle/10204/3794/Cowling_2009.pdf?sequence=1&amp;isAllowed=y">affects everyone</a>, and <a href="http://www.ncc-group.co.za/blog/2015/03/government-gets-tough-invasive-aliens">serious collaborative action</a> is urgently needed to fully address the problem. Volunteers can also contribute by participating in alien hacks in their local communities. Everyone can be part of the solution. The time to act is now.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/94186/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Cousins receives funding from the National Research Foundation and the Table Mountain Fund.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elzanne Singels receives funding from National Research Foundation and the Palaeontological Scientific Trust. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tineke Kraaij receives funding from Nelson Mandela University. </span></em></p>Invasive alien species that costs South Africa's economy billions can be eliminated.Stephen Cousins, PhD student in Conservation Ecology, Stellenbosch UniversityElzanne Singels, PhD candidate in the Archaeology Department , University of Cape TownTineke Kraaij, Reseacher and lecturer School of Natural Resource Management, Nelson Mandela UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/931132018-04-03T10:45:40Z2018-04-03T10:45:40ZA chicken in every backyard: Urban poultry needs more regulation to protect human and animal health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212812/original/file-20180402-189810-cbnadz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ranging free in the yard.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/fzgSw8">thedabblist</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Colorado has received a lot of attention recently as one of the first states to allow recreational marijuana, but it’s also legalizing other things. Denver, one of the nation’s <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-mile-high-building-boom-in-denver-1507818894">hottest urban real estate markets</a>, is surrounded by municipalities that allow backyard chicken flocks. </p>
<p>This isn’t just happening in Colorado. Backyard chickens are cropping up everywhere. Nearly 1 percent of all U.S. households surveyed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture <a href="https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/nahms/poultry/downloads/poultry10/Poultry10_dr_Urban_Chicken_Four.pdf">reported owning backyard fowl</a> in 2013, and 4 percent more planned to start in the next five years. That’s over 13 million Americans flocking to the backyard poultry scene. Ownership is spread evenly between rural, urban and suburban households and is similar across racial and ethnic groups. A 2015 <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/003335491513000417">review</a> of 150 of the most-populated U.S. cities found that nearly all (93 percent) allowed backyard poultry flocks. </p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=tiWgmHQAAAAJ&amp;hl=en">Our lab group</a> analyzes health issues that connect humans, animals and the environment. In a recent <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-017-0462-0">study</a> with University of California, Davis animal scientist <a href="http://animalscience.ucdavis.edu/faculty/emeriti/mench.html">Joy Mench</a>, we examined urban poultry regulations in Colorado – the only state that collects and makes public animal shelter surrender data. Our findings suggest that as backyard chicken farming spreads, states need to develop regulations to better protect animal welfare and human health.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JZx0BM6wwHI?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Chicken owners in cities like Los Angeles are seeking a closer connection with their food.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>When animals roamed the streets</h2>
<p>U.S. cities once were powered by animals. Horses provided transport <a href="https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/tag/horses-in-new-york-city/">through the early 1900s</a>. Pigs and hens fed on household garbage before municipal trash collection became routine. Thousands of cattle were <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1538513213507542">driven up Fifth Avenue</a> in New York City daily in the late 19th century, occasionally trampling children and pedestrians.</p>
<p>To reduce accidents, disease and nuisances, such as piles of smelly manure and dead animals, early public health and planning agencies wrote the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1538513213507542">first ordinances</a> banning urban livestock. By the 1920s, farm animals and related facilities such as dairies, piggeries and slaughterhouses were barred from most U.S. cities. Exceptions were made during World War I and World War II, when meat was rationed, encouraging city dwellers to raise backyard birds. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212816/original/file-20180402-189821-1ledzv1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212816/original/file-20180402-189821-1ledzv1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip"></a>
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<span class="caption">How civilians could help during World War I.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.nal.usda.gov/exhibits/ipd/frostonchickens/exhibits/show/poultrymarketplace/usdamarketreports">USDA</a></span>
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<h2>Locavores and animal lovers</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/locavore-or-vegetarian-whats-the-best-way-to-reduce-climate-impact-of-food-51232">local food movement</a> has helped drive interest in raising backyard birds. People want to grow their own food. In response, cities across the country are modifying regulations and overturning long-standing bans to <a href="http://www.worldwatch.org/node/5900">legally accommodate backyard chickens</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1089&amp;context=usp_fac">Surveys</a> show that backyard chicken owners are concerned about where their food comes from, how it was produced and possible risks associated with eating industrially produced meat and eggs. They believe their birds have a better quality of life and produce safer and more nutritious eggs and meat than commercially raised versions. </p>
<h2>Risks to humans and chickens</h2>
<p>However, raising backyard chickens is not risk-free. As one example, an outbreak of highly infectious <a href="http://outbreaknewstoday.com/egypt-reports-10-human-h5n1-avian-influenza-cases-in-first-nine-months-of-2016/">H5N1 avian influenza in Egypt</a> resulted in <a href="https://www.chp.gov.hk/files/pdf/global_statistics_avian_influenza_e.pdf">183 confirmed cases and 56 deaths</a> between 2014 and 2016. The majority of clinically confirmed cases were linked to close contact with diseased backyard birds. </p>
<p>In the United States, contact with backyard poultry is associated with hundreds of <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/03/24/175057536/backyard-chickens-cute-trendy-spreaders-of-salmonella">multistate salmonella</a> outbreaks every year. A 2016 USDA <a href="https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/%20connect/5235aa20-fee1-4e5b-86f5-8d6e09f351b6/Shell_Eggs_%20from_Farm_to_Table.pdf?MOD=AJPERES.">survey</a> of backyard poultry owners found that 25 percent of respondents did not wash their hands after handling birds or eggs. In another <a href="https://doi.org/10.3382/ps.2014-04154">study</a>, the majority of backyard owners knew little about identifying or preventing poultry diseases. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212823/original/file-20180402-189801-f7bp0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212823/original/file-20180402-189801-f7bp0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
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<span class="caption">Number of people infected with salmonella in four 2015 multistate outbreaks linked to backyard poultry.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/live-poultry-07-15/map.html">CDC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Commercial poultry facilities protect birds against a variety of diseases by injecting vaccines into growing chicks while they are still in the egg. Many backyard growers do not know to request vaccinated birds when they purchase chicks or eggs. In 2002 an <a href="https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/ahfss/Animal_Health/Newcastle_Disease_Info.html">outbreak</a> of exotic Newcastle disease in California originated in backyard flocks and spread into commercial poultry operations. Operators had to euthanize more than 3 million birds. They received compensation from USDA for doing so, which cost taxpayers US$161 million. USDA also had to restrict poultry exports, which caused economic losses for commercial poultry producers. </p>
<p>Many animal control and welfare agencies around the country oppose allowing urban livestock. Some activists argue that it can foster abuse, <a href="http://aldf.org/blog/is-urban-chicken-farming-good-for-chickens/">inhumane conditions</a> and the development of backyard “factory farms,” and increase burdens on <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/healthmain/backyard-chickens-dumped-shelters-when-hipsters-cant-cope-critics-say-6C10533508">thinly stretched animal shelters</a> and rescue groups. </p>
<h2>Few rules for backyard flocks</h2>
<p>We began our study by reviewing every local law in the state of Colorado pertaining to livestock. Then we looked at Colorado animal shelter and rescue data for 2014 and 2015. We wanted to see whether counties with large commercial operations were likely to prohibit raising backyard birds; when most ordinances originated; and what animal care standards were written into local laws.</p>
<p>We found that 61 of 78 Colorado municipalities allowed backyard chickens, and only 13 municipalities explicitly banned the practice. Local laws most commonly controlled for coop design and placement, prohibited owning roosters and limited the total number of birds allowed. Unlike commercial guidelines or typical standards for domestic cats and dogs, most ordinances did not require vaccination or veterinary care.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212822/original/file-20180402-189813-1h2aimk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/212822/original/file-20180402-189813-1h2aimk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip"></a>
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<span class="caption">Stray chickens can be killed by domestic dogs or wild predators.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/hpBHk2">Mark Krynsky</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Very few regulations required humane slaughter or disease reporting. Only four municipalities required owners to provide birds with food; 16 required water, and two mandated veterinary care as warranted. Many owners understand that water and food are basic necessities, but when cities do not codify these requirements, animals have little legal protection and are not officially entitled to veterinary care even when they are sick, injured or dying.</p>
<p>On the positive side, we found that most shelters had not yet experienced an increase in chicken intake, and reported that people were interested in taking in <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/07/10/200699728/hipsters-off-the-hook-the-truth-behind-abandoned-backyard-chickens">stray chickens</a>. But several organizations were concerned that they would receive more chickens in the future as the number of homes with space for stray birds decreased. </p>
<h2>Setting higher standards</h2>
<p>We found several cities with model ordinances that safeguarded avian and human health. Fort Collins, home to <a href="http://csu-cvmbs.colostate.edu/Pages/default.aspx">Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine</a>, requires annual permitting fees that are collected by the nonprofit <a href="http://www.larimerhumane.org/animal-control/fort-collins-service">Larimer Humane Society</a>. The agency educates owners about disease prevention and husbandry and connects them with veterinarians and agricultural extension agents. </p>
<p>Nonprofit animal welfare agencies often depend heavily on donations to run animal shelters and care for strays. Fee systems such as that required in Fort Collins can help them cover costs of managing unwanted and stray animals. And streamlined permitting overseen by animal welfare agencies and veterinarians can prevent many backyard diseases or catch them early. </p>
<p>Based on our survey of Colorado, we believe cities need to carefully consider their backyard chicken regulations and develop strong legal frameworks that protect animal and human health and welfare. In particular, they should develop rules that require food and water, mandate veterinary care and connect owners with animal welfare agencies.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93113/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From Brooklyn to Los Angeles, thousands of Americans are raising chickens in their backyards. But without stricter regulation, urban poultry farming is risky for both humans and birds.Catherine Brinkley, Assistant Professor of Community and Regional Development, University of California, DavisJacqueline Kingsley, Master's Degree Candidate in Community Development, University of California, DavisLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/887202018-02-13T11:42:43Z2018-02-13T11:42:43ZHow urban farmers are learning to grow food without soil or natural light<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206186/original/file-20180213-44657-1wwhmro.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mandy Zammit/Grow Up</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Growing food in cities became popular in Europe and North America during and immediately after World War II. Urban farming provided citizens with food, at a time when resources were desperately scarce. In the decades that followed, parcels of land which had been given over to allotments and city farms were gradually taken up for urban development. But recently, there has been <a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-farms-wont-feed-our-cities-but-theyre-still-a-great-idea-heres-why-66107">a renewed interest</a> in urban farming – albeit for very different reasons than before. </p>
<p>As part of a <a href="http://www.urbanallotments.eu/">recent research project</a> investigating how urban farming is evolving across Europe, I found that in countries where growing food was embedded in the national culture, many people have started new food production projects. There was less uptake in countries such as Greece and Slovenia, where there was no tradition of urban farming. Yet a few <a href="http://www.fupress.net/index.php/ri-vista/article/view/17588/16480">community projects</a> had recently been started in those places too.</p>
<p>Today’s urban farmers don’t just grow food to eat; they also see urban agriculture as a way of increasing the diversity of plants and animals in the city, bringing people from different backgrounds and age groups together, improving mental and physical health and regenerating derelict neighbourhoods.</p>
<p>Many new urban farming projects still struggle to find suitable green spaces. But people are finding inventive solutions; growing food in <a href="https://www.kingscross.co.uk/skip-garden">skips</a> or on rooftops, on sites that are only temporarily free, or on raised beds in <a href="http://www.edibleeastside.net/">abandoned industrial yards</a>. Growers are even using technologies such as hydroponics, aquaculture and aquaponics to make the most of unoccupied spaces. </p>
<h2>Something fishy</h2>
<p>Hydroponic systems were engineered as a highly space and resource efficient form of farming. Today, they represent a considerable source of industrially grown produce; <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hydroponic-vegetables-market-to-reach-us121065-mn-by-2025-growing-concerns-about-food-security-ups-demand-for-hydroponics-says-tmr-626494961.html">one estimate</a> suggests that, in 2016, the hydroponic vegetable market was worth about US$6.9 billion worldwide. </p>
<p>Hydroponics enable people to grow food without soil and natural light, using blocks of porous material where the plants’ roots grow, and artificial lighting such as low-energy LED. A <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4483736/">study on lettuce production</a> found that although hydroponic crops require significantly more energy than conventionally grown food, they also use less water and have considerably higher yields. </p>
<p>Growing hydroponic crops usually requires sophisticated technology, specialist skills and expensive equipment. But simplified versions can be affordable and easy to use. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206178/original/file-20180213-44639-8u181p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">They grow up so fast.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mandy Zammit/Grow Up</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="http://www.hemmaodlat.se/">Hemmaodlat</a> is an organisation based in Malmö, in a neighbourhood primarily occupied by low-income groups and immigrants. The area is densely built, and there’s no green space available to grow food locally. Plus, the Swedish summer is short and not always ideal for growing crops. Instead, the organisation aims to promote hydroponic systems among local communities, as a way to grow fresh food using low-cost equipment. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://bristolfish.org/">Bristol Fish Project</a> is a community-supported aquaponics farm, which breeds fish and uses the organic waste they produce to fertilise plants grown hydroponically. <a href="http://growup.org.uk/">GrowUp</a> is another aquaponics venture located in an East London warehouse – they grow food and farm fish using only artificial light. Similarly, <a href="http://growing-underground.com/">Growing Underground</a> is an enterprise that produces crops in tunnels, which were originally built as air raid shelters during World War II in London. </p>
<h2>The next big thing?</h2>
<p>The potential to grow food in small spaces, under any environmental conditions, are certainly big advantages in an urban context. But these technologies also mean that the time spent outdoors, weathering the natural cycles of the seasons, is lost. Also, hydroponic systems require nutrients that are often synthesised chemically – although organic nutrients are now becoming available. Many urban farmers grow their food following organic principles, partly because the excessive use of chemical fertilisers is <a href="http://www.fao.org/tc/exact/sustainable-agriculture-platform-pilot-website/nutrients-and-soil-fertility-management/organic-fertilizers-including-manure-and-compost/en/">damaging soil fertility</a> and <a href="http://www.fao.org/docrep/w2598e/w2598e06.htm">polluting groundwater</a>.</p>
<p>To see whether these drawbacks would put urban growers off using hydroponic systems, my colleagues and I conducted a pilot study <a href="http://portsmoutharchitecture.tumblr.com/post/166777033590/nature-or-nurturing-an-investigation-into-the">in Portsmouth</a>. We installed small hydroponic units in two local community gardens, and interviewed volunteers and visitors to the gardens. Many of the people we spoke to were well informed about hydroponic technology, and knew that some of the vegetables sold in supermarkets today are produced with this system. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206182/original/file-20180213-44657-16vtjaz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/206182/original/file-20180213-44657-16vtjaz.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A simplified hydroponic frame in Portsmouth.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Silvio Caputo/University of Portsmouth</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many were fascinated by the idea of growing food without soil within their community projects, but at the same time reluctant to consume the produce because of the chemical nutrients used. A few interviewees were also uncomfortable with the idea that the food was not grown naturally. We intend to repeat this experiment in the near future, to see how public opinion changes over time. </p>
<p>And while we don’t think hydroponic systems can replace the enjoyment that growing food in soil can offer, they can save water and produce safe food, either indoors or outdoors, in a world with increasingly scarce resources. Learning to use these new technologies, and integrating them into existing projects, can only help to grow even more sustainable food. </p>
<p>As with many technological advancements, it could be that a period of slow acceptance will be followed by rapid, widespread uptake. Perhaps the fact that IKEA is selling portable <a href="http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/indoor-gardening/">hydroponic units</a>, while hydroponic cabinets are on the market as <a href="http://www.urbancultivator.net/">components of kitchen systems</a>, is a sign that this technology is primed to enter mainstream use.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88720/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Silvio Caputo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Hydroponics and aquaponics are already being used by the agriculture industry – is it time urban farmers got on board?Silvio Caputo, Senior Lecturer, University of PortsmouthLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/756372017-04-04T19:29:58Z2017-04-04T19:29:58ZTropical Cyclone Debbie has blown a hole in the winter vegetable supply<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/163769/original/image-20170404-21976-1vucghl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bowen&#39;s market gardens supply some 13% of Australia&#39;s perishable vegetables.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Cyclone Debbie, which lashed the Queensland coast a week ago, has <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-31/queensland-farmers-and-crops-hit-hard-by-cyclone-debbie/8405422">hit farmers hard</a> in the area around Bowen – a crucial supplier of vegetables to Sydney, Melbourne and much of eastern Australia.</p>
<p>With the Queensland Farmers’ Federation <a href="http://www.qff.org.au/blog/bowen-growers-count-costs-cyclone-debbie/">estimating the damage</a> at more than A$100 million and winter crop losses at 20%, the event looks set to affect the cost and availability of fresh food for millions of Australians. Growers are reportedly forecasting a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-31/queensland-farmers-and-crops-hit-hard-by-cyclone-debbie/8405422">price spike in May</a>, when the damaged crops were scheduled to have arrived on shelves.</p>
<p>The incident also raises broader questions about the resilience of Australia’s fresh vegetable supply, much of which comes from a relatively small number of areas that are under pressure from climate and land use change. </p>
<p>In 2011 the Bowen area produced <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Previousproducts/7121.0Main%20Features32010-11?opendocument&amp;tabname=Summary&amp;prodno=7121.0&amp;issue=2010-11&amp;num=&amp;view=">33% of Australia’s fresh beans, 46% of capsicum and 23% of fresh tomatoes</a>, making it the country’s largest producer of beans and capsicums, and number two in fresh tomatoes. </p>
<p>The region also produces a significant amount of chillies, corn, cucumbers, eggplant, pumpkin, zucchini and squash, and is a key production area for mangoes and melons. </p>
<p>Coastal Queensland’s vegetable regions are among the highest-producing in the country, especially for perishable vegetables. The Whitsunday region around Bowen, and the area around Bundaberg further south are each responsible for around <a href="http://apo.org.au/files/Resource/sinclair.pdf">13% of the national perishable vegetable supply</a>. </p>
<p>As the chart below shows, vegetable production is highly concentrated in particular regions, typically on the fringes of large cities. These “peri-urban” regions, when added to the two major growing areas in coastal Queensland, account for about <a href="http://apo.org.au/files/Resource/sinclair.pdf">75% of Australia’s perishable vegetables</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/163758/original/image-20170403-21966-1ff9kby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/163758/original/image-20170403-21966-1ff9kby.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Proportion of State Perishable Vegetable Production by weight.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ABS 7121.0 Agricultural Commodities Australia, 2010-11</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Australia’s climate variability means that most fresh produce can be grown domestically. The seasonable variability allows production to move from the south to the north in the winter, when the Bundaberg and Bowen areas produce most of the winter vegetables consumed in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. The <a href="http://bowengumlu.kapowinteractive.com.au/production">Bowen Gumlu Growers Association</a> estimates that during the spring growing season in September—October, the region produces 90% of Australia’s fresh tomatoes and 95% of capsicums. </p>
<p>Besides damaging crops, Cyclone Debbie has also destroyed many growers’ packing and cool storage sheds. The cost of rebuilding this infrastructure may be too much for many farmers, and the waterlogged soils are also set to make planting the next crop more difficult. </p>
<p>The recovery of production in these areas is crucial for the supply. Growers who have lost their May crop will first have to wait until the paddocks dry out, then source new seedlings and plant them. It could be weeks until crops can be replanted, and storage and processing facilities replaced. </p>
<p>The Queensland government has announced <a href="http://statements.qld.gov.au/Statement/2017/3/29/financial-assistance-to-help-producers-affected-by-cyclone">natural disaster relief funding</a>, including concessional loans of up to A$250,000 and essential working capital loans of up to A$100,000, to help farmers replant and rebuild.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, consumers of fresh vegetables in Sydney and Melbourne and many other places are likely to find themselves paying more until the shortfall can be replaced.</p>
<h2>Fresh food for growing cities</h2>
<p>Australia’s cities are <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3218.0">growing rapidly</a>, along with those of many other countries. The United Nations has predicted that by 2050 <a href="https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/Publications/">about 87% of the world’s population will live in cities</a>. This urban expansion is putting ever more pressure on peri-urban food bowls. </p>
<p>Food production is also under pressure from <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/foodsecurityreport2015">climate change</a>, raising the risk of future food shocks and price spikes in the wake of disasters such as cyclones. Meanwhile, the <a href="http://apo.org.au/files/Resource/sinclair.pdf">desire for semi-rural lifestyles</a> is also conflicting with the use of land for farming (see <a href="http://www.sydneyfoodfutures.net/">Sydney’s Food Futures</a> and <a href="http://www.ecoinnovationlab.com/project_content/foodprint-melbourne/">Foodprint Melbourne</a> for more).</p>
<p>These pressures mean that Australia’s cities need to make their food systems more resilient, so that they can withstand food shocks more easily, and recover more quickly. </p>
<p>Key features of a resilient food system are likely to include: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>geographic diversity in production, which spreads the risk of crop damage from extreme weather events across a number of different production areas;</p></li>
<li><p>more local food production, to reduce transportation and storage costs and avoid over-reliance on particular regions;</p></li>
<li><p>a diverse, healthy and innovative farming community;</p></li>
<li><p>greater consumer awareness of the importance of seasonal and locally produced food;</p></li>
<li><p>recycling of urban waste and water for use on farms, to reduce the use of fresh water and fertilisers;</p></li>
<li><p>the capacity to import food from overseas to meet shortfalls in domestic supply;</p></li>
<li><p>increased use of protected cropping systems such as greenhouses, which are better able to withstand adverse weather. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Two recent studies of food production around <a href="http://www.rics.org/au/knowledge/research/research-reports/peri-urban-food-production/">Sydney</a> and <a href="http://www.ecoinnovationlab.com/wp-content/attachments/Melbourne-Food-Future-planning-a-resilient-city-food-bowl-web.pdf">Melbourne</a> provide examples of a range of mechanisms and policies for increasing the resilience of the food systems of Australian cities.</p>
<p>Our food system has served us well until now, but land use pressures and climate change will make it harder in future. When a cyclone can knock out a major production region overnight, with knock-on effects for Australian consumers, this points to a lack of resilience in Australia’s fresh vegetable supply.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/75637/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Sinclair is a PhD Candidate and Rural Planning Consultant and has consulted to and received funding from Whitsunday Regional Council as well as Sydney peri-urban Councils and the Department of Planning and Environment.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brent Jacobs receives funding from NSW Office of Environment and Heritage and the NSW Environmental Trust. He has conducted research on peri-urban food production for the Sydney&#39;s Food Future project. Partners in this project included Wollondilly Shire Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Laura Wynne managed a research project on peri-urban food production for the Sydney&#39;s Food Futures project, which received funding from the Office and Environment and Heritage and the NSW Environmental Trust. The project involved Wollondilly Shire Council, the Sydney Peri-Urban Network of Councils and other partners. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Carey led the Foodprint Melbourne project, which was funded by the Lord Mayor&#39;s Charitable Foundation. Project partners included the City of Melbourne and the peak bodies representing the local government areas in Melbourne&#39;s city fringe foodbowl. She is also a Research Fellow on the project &#39;Regulating Food Labels: The case of free range food products in Australia&#39;, which is funded by the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p>Sydney, Melbourne and many other areas can expect to pay more for veg from next month, after widespread crop losses in Bowen, a major source of winter vegetables such as tomatoes, beans and capsicum.Ian Sinclair, PhD Candidate. Contested Landscapes – Managing the Tensions between Land Use Planning in Strategic Agricultural Regions on Australia’s Eastern Seaboard., University of SydneyBrent Jacobs, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology SydneyLaura Wynne, Senior Research Consultant, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology SydneyRachel Carey, Research Fellow, University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/749292017-03-22T14:54:09Z2017-03-22T14:54:09ZAfrica needs its own version of the vertical farm to feed growing cities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/161980/original/image-20170322-31180-yu0ne0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hydroponic vertical farming system.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://www.producegrower.com/article/philips-lighting-vertical-farm-netherlands/">Netherlands</a> is building its first large-scale commercial vertical indoor farm. It’s expected to serve Europe’s largest supermarket chains with high quality, pesticide-free fresh cut lettuce.</p>
<p>Vertical farms <a href="http://www.verticalfarms.com.au/advantages-vertical-farming">use</a> high tech lighting and climate controlled buildings to grow crops like leafy greens or herbs indoors while using less water and soil. Because it’s a closed growing system, with controlled evaporation from plants, this farms use <a href="https://carteblanche.dstv.com/vertical-farming/">95% less water</a> than traditional farms. At the same time, most vertical farms don’t need soil because they use aeroponics or hydroponic systems – these dispense nutrients needed for plants to grow via mist or water. This technique is ideal for meeting the challenges of urbanisation and the rising demand by consumers for high-quality, pesticide-free food.</p>
<p>They’re not unusual. In recent years, there’s been a gradual increase in the number of vertical farming enterprises, especially in North America and Asia. In the US, <a href="https://www.fastcoexist.com/3059721/world-changing-ideas/why-chicago-is-becoming-the-countrys-urban-farming-capital">Chicago</a> is home to several vertical farms, while New Jersey is home to AeroFarms, the <a href="http://www.sciencealert.com/the-world-s-largest-vertical-farm-is-set-to-open-in-new-jersey-this-year">world’s largest vertical farm</a>. Other <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2016/12/twelve-organizations-promoting-urban-agriculture-around-world/">countries</a> such as <a href="http://inhabitat.com/futuristic-japanese-indoor-vertical-farm-produces-12000-heads-of-lettuce-a-day-with-led-lighting/">Japan</a>, Singapore, Italy and Brazil have also seen more vertical farms. As the trend continues, vertical farming is expected to be valued at <a href="http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/vertical-farming.asp">US$5.80 billion</a> by 2022.</p>
<p>Africa faces similar trends that demand it considers vertical farms. Firstly, it’s <a href="http://afkinsider.com/137938/137938/">urbanising</a> at a fast rate. By 2025 more than 70% of its population is expected to live in the cities. Secondly, many of these urban consumers are demanding and willing <a href="http://www.mdpi.com/2076-3298/2/4/449">to spend much more</a> to buy high quality, pesticide free food.</p>
<p>Yet, despite sharing trends that have fuelled the vertical farming movement, Africa is yet to see a boom in the industry.</p>
<p>A few unique versions are sprouting up on the continent. These show that the African versions of vertical farms may not necessarily follow the same model of other countries. It’s important to establish what the barriers to entry are, and what African entrepreneurs need to do to ensure more vertical farms emerge.</p>
<h2>Barriers to vertical farming</h2>
<p>Initial financial investments are huge. For example, a complete modern (6,410sqm) vertical farm capable of growing roughly 1 million kilos of produce a year can cost up to <a href="http://www.whatitcosts.com/vertical-farming-cost-prices/">$80 to $100 million</a>. </p>
<p>There also needs to be upfront investment in research. Many of the successful vertical farms in the developed world, including the one launching in the <a href="http://www.producegrower.com/article/philips-lighting-vertical-farm-netherlands/">Netherlands</a>, invest in research before they go live. This ranges from studying the most appropriate system that should be used to the best lighting system and seed varieties, as well investigating the many other ingredients that determine the success or failure of the farm.</p>
<p>Access to reliable and consistent energy is another barrier. Many African cities frequently experience power cuts and this could prove to be a big challenge for innovators wanting to venture in vertical farming business.</p>
<p>Faced with these challenges, entrepreneurs thinking of venturing into vertical farming in Africa need to put in more thought, creativity and innovation in their design and building methods. </p>
<p>They need to be less expensive to install and maintain. They also have to take into consideration the available local materials. For example, instead of depending on LED lighting system, African versions can utilise solar energy and use locally available materials such as wood. This means that entrepreneurs should begin small and use <a href="http://www.resilience.org/stories/2010-03-15/how-make-your-own-low-tech-vertical-farm">low-tech innovations</a> to see what works. </p>
<p>As innovators locally figure out what works best for them, there will be further variations in the vertical farms between African countries. </p>
<h2>African versions</h2>
<p>In Uganda, for instance, faced with lack of financial resources to build a modern vertical farm and limited access to land and water, urban farmers are venturing into <a href="http://observers.france24.com/en/20160803-arable-land-uganda-vertical-farms">vertically stacked wooden crates units</a>. These <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gbdUVMSbNI">simple units</a> consist of a central <a href="http://lancaster.unl.edu/pest/resources/vermicompost107.shtml">vermicomposting</a> chamber. Water bottles are used to irrigate the crops continuously. These stacked simple vertical gardens consume less water and allow urban farmers to grow vegetables such as kale to supply urban markets. At the moment, 15 such farms have been installed in Kampala and they hope to grow the number in the coming years.</p>
<p>In Kenya, <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2000137378/urban-spinach-farmer-makes-sh100-000-in-profit-per-month">sack gardens</a> represent a local and practical form of a vertical farm. Sack gardens, made from sisal fibres are cheap to design and build. One sack costs about US$0.12. Most importantly, they use local materials and fewer resources yet give yields that help farmers achieve the same outcomes as vertical farms in the developed world. As a result, many have turned into sack gardening. In Kibera, for example, <a href="http://www.new-ag.info/en/focus/focusItem.php?a=1742">over</a> 22,000 households have farmed on sacks.<br>
Also in Kenya, <a href="https://www.africanexponent.com/post/ukulima-tech-revolutionizing-farming-for-urban-residents-2884">Ukulima Tech</a> builds modern vertical farms for clients in Nairobi. At the moment it’s created four prototypes of vertical farms; tower garden, hanging gardens, A-Frame gardens and multifarious gardens. Each of these prototypes uses a variation of the vertical garden theme, keeping water use to a minimum while growing vegetables in a closed and insect free environment.</p>
<p>The continent has unique opportunities for vertical farms. Future innovators and entrepreneurs should be thinking of how to specialise growing vegetables to meet a rise in demand of <a href="http://www.nature.com/news/the-rise-of-africa-s-super-vegetables-1.17712">Africa’s super vegetables</a> by urban consumers. Because of their popularity, startups are assured of ready markets from the urban dwellers. In Nairobi, for example, these vegetables are already becoming <a href="http://www.hortibiz.com/item/news/indigenous-vegetables-in-africa-are-superfoods/">popular</a>.</p>
<p>Feeding Africa’s rapidly growing urban population will continue to be a daunting challenge, but vertical farming – and its variations – is one of the most innovative approaches that can be tapped into as part of an effort to grow fresh, healthy, nutritious and pesticide-free food for consumers.</p>
<p>Now is the time for African entrepreneurs and innovators to invest in designing and building them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74929/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Esther Ndumi Ngumbi does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Urban consumers in Africa are rapidly growing and they are demanding high quality, pesticide free food.Esther Ndumi Ngumbi, Research Fellow, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/715682017-02-09T15:12:21Z2017-02-09T15:12:21ZUrban farming produces more than food: social networks are a key spinoff<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155435/original/image-20170203-14006-xu5a66.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Building social networks is one of the greatest benefits of urban agriculture.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author supplied</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Urban agriculture, the cultivation of crops and animals in an urban environment, is known to increase access to <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?hl=en&amp;lr=&amp;id=dddx3MJ-9qwC&amp;oi=fnd&amp;pg=PR5&amp;dq=mougeot+2006+growing+better+cities&amp;ots=TLA21Uf2gb&amp;sig=pfvIx1oZ-83AkvgJdnTJKtZm2Xs&amp;redir_esc=y#v=onepage&amp;q=mougeot%202006%20growing%20better%20cities&amp;f=false">healthy food</a>. It is particularly important for poorer people in cities where food is mainly accessed through cash purchases. Healthy fresh fruit and vegetables are more expensive per kilogram than many of the processed foods. But these are low in fibre and high in artificial flavouring.</p>
<p>In many African cities, urban agriculture is one of the <a href="http://www.fao.org/docrep/016/i3002e/i3002e.pdf">main ways</a> that fresh produce is supplied to local markets. For example in Dakar, Kinshasa and Accra almost all the leafy greens you can buy are grown in the city itself. </p>
<p>While urban agriculture in Cape Town, South Africa, might not play as significant a role in the city’s food system overall, the <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0376835X.2016.1259988?scroll=top&amp;needAccess=true">6,000 urban farmers</a> who are growing their own food and selling surplus on Cape Town’s Cape Flats find it an irreplaceable part of their livelihoods. </p>
<p>For such farmers, it is well-known that growing their own food helps them diversify their family’s diet, and selling surplus provides additional income. But our research shows you don’t have to farm at a large scale to reap significant benefits.</p>
<p>By talking to the farmers we found that even having a small backyard food garden puts you in touch with neighbours, NGOs and local government, which in turn creates a wealth of spin-off benefits.</p>
<p>Our <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0376835X.2016.1259988?scroll=top&amp;needAccess=true">research</a> shows that building social networks is one of the greatest benefits of urban agriculture in poor areas. This research was conducted on the Cape Flats, a vast residential area of mainly low-cost council housing and shacks.</p>
<p>As a legacy of apartheid-era racial segregation, the Cape Flats has high unemployment rates, limited access to amenities and prevalent crime. In such an environment, fear and mistrust <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03768350120097478">curtail positive social interactions</a>, while economic hardship limits access to <a href="http://www.afsun.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Battersby.pdf">adequate healthy food</a>.</p>
<p>In this context, the real value of urban agriculture is not only in generating income for the economically marginalised, but it is found in expanding social networks. These networks help farmers draw on emotional and practical support during tough times. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0376835X.2016.1259988">research</a> involved interviews with 59 farmers throughout the Cape Flats, from home gardeners to larger commercial farming groups. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155335/original/image-20170202-28056-2t8c0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/155335/original/image-20170202-28056-2t8c0u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Urban farmers were not trying to maximise their profits, but were actually forming strong social networks by working together to plant gardens.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gemmapitcher/4942309583/">Flickr/Gemma Pitcher</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>New findings</h2>
<p>Most studies have been focused on the <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03768350120097478">economics</a> of urban agriculture. Only a couple of case studies done in Cape Town and Nairobi indicated that the benefits to urban farming were <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10460-013-9425-y">far more nuanced</a>. </p>
<p>By asking more qualitative questions, these studies revealed something startling. Urban farmers were not trying to maximise their profits, but were actually forming strong social networks by working together to plant gardens. </p>
<p>Inspired by these findings, we decided to see if the same applied on the Cape Flats. The research took me on walks from house to house in areas such as Khayelitsha, Lavender Hill, Vrygrond and Mfuleni – some of Cape Town’s most resource-constrained areas. The farmers interviewed increasingly confirmed that urban agriculture creates valuable social networks. </p>
<p>Our findings show that social networking occurs on three levels. These are:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>creating friendships between neighbours;</p></li>
<li><p>broadening networks of acquaintance with other farmers; and</p></li>
<li><p>improving access to influential contacts in government, civil society and the market. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>This means that urban farmers not only develop the kinds of friendships they can draw on during tough times. But they also develop broader networks with other farmers, with NGOs, with government and with local markets that allow them to build a career.</p>
<p>These new findings show that by focusing on income generation alone, much of the existing research underestimated urban agriculture’s potential for building sustainable livelihoods in poorer areas. The findings prove that even at a small scale, urban agriculture contributes to building social networks that provide much-needed practical and emotional support.</p>
<p>Based on our findings, we believe it is crucial for development practitioners to understand urban agriculture holistically, rather than focusing disproportionately on outputs or profit margins. Improved collaboration between NGOs and local government is also highly recommended to help benefit these farmers. </p>
<p>There are excellent examples of urban agriculture on the Cape Flats, and much potential still exists for this sector to expand sustainable livelihoods and improve quality of life, with the right support.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/71568/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Olivier is a researcher part of the Africa Climate Change Adaptation Initiative (ACCAI) programme entitled “Co-producing knowledge on food systems for development in Africa” which is funded by the Open Society Foundation, via the Global Change and Sustainability Research Institute. Empirical findings are based on research funded by the National Research Foundation.</span></em></p>Urban farming increases access to healthy foods. And building social networks is one of the greatest benefits of urban agriculture in poor areas.David W. Olivier, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Global Change Institute, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/663372016-10-28T04:34:24Z2016-10-28T04:34:24ZIs it time to resurrect the wartime 'Grow Your Own' campaign?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140035/original/image-20161003-7750-1ntd4sn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Australian government &#39;Grow your own&#39; campaign billboard, 1943.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">NAA C2829/2</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>During the devastating floods that hit Queensland in 2011, <a href="http://www.agriculture.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/ag-food/food/national-food-plan/submissions-received/resilience-food-supply.pdf">Brisbane</a> and <a href="http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/fuel-and-food-crisis-hits-coast-floods-2011/743170/">regional centres</a> came perilously close to running out of fresh food. With the central Rocklea produce market underwater, panic-buying soon set in and supermarket shelves emptied fast. </p>
<p>Such events expose the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10460-015-9603-1">vulnerability of our urban food systems</a>. Climate change and resource depletion present more slow-burning challenges, but the fact remains that urban food policy is <a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-food-systems-may-be-just-a-side-dish-at-habitat-iii-63639">at risk of complacency</a>.</p>
<p>Gardening is certainly <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-is-in-gardening-is-good-for-you-65251">good for you</a>, but does it have a role to play in increasing urban food security and resilience? Perhaps history can tell us the answer.</p>
<p>While <a href="https://www.nccarf.edu.au/sites/default/files/attached_files_publications/Burton_2013_Urban_food_security.pdf">Australian research</a> has focused on recent urban agriculture initiatives, a real-world experiment in gardening for food security took place in Australia more than 70 years ago, during the Second World War.</p>
<h2>Winning the war with home-grown food</h2>
<p>Britain, facing serious food shortages, began using the slogan “<a href="http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scotlandshistory/20thand21stcenturies/worldwarii/digforvictory/">Dig for Victory</a>” in 1939. In Australia, low-key efforts at encouraging home food production began two years later.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://uwap.uwa.edu.au/products/harvest-of-the-suburbs-an-environmental-history-of-growing-food-in-australian-cities">1941 survey of Melbourne households</a> revealed that 48% of them already produced food of some kind. In spacious middle-ring suburbs the proportion was as high as 88%, whereas in the dense inner cities it was less than 15%. Food production was most common among middle-class and skilled working-class households, and less so among the poor and marginalised.</p>
<p>By 1943, significant food shortfalls were expected in Australia. The government responded with a range of measures, including a large-scale “Grow Your Own” campaign.</p>
<p>Movies, radio broadcasts, public demonstrations, competitions, posters, newspaper ads and brochures all urged home gardeners to grow their own vegetables. It was hoped this would reduce the strain on the commercial food supply, as well as offering substitutes for rationed food items, providing insurance against commercial food supply failures, and easing the demand on items such as fuel and rubber. Municipal councils and schools also ran vegetable production programmes.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140036/original/image-20161003-7750-12obbit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140036/original/image-20161003-7750-12obbit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A ‘Grow Your Own’ campaign advertisement from around 1943.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">PROV, VPRS 10163/P2</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>While there are no reliable statistics on the campaign’s effectiveness, anecdotal evidence suggests that home food production increased – but not without hitting obstacles along the way.</p>
<p>Wartime disruptions led to shortages of pesticides, seeds, rubber and fertilisers. Livestock and fowl can play an important role in nutrient cycling in sustainable food production, but cows and goats had been excluded from many urban areas in the decades before the war. As a result, competition for local manure was fierce; some gardeners would wait with bucket and shovel for horses on grocery rounds to pass by.</p>
<p>Artificial fertilisers were also expensive and hard to come by. Even the use of blood and bone as an organic fertiliser was restricted, as it was diverted for commercial poultry and pig feed. Alternatives included composting of waste, although this required time and skill, and its nutritional value for plants was limited.</p>
<p>Labour, too, was in short supply. Many able-bodied people had joined the armed forces and others were working long hours in war jobs. This left relatively few urban residents with the time and energy to devote to a vegetable garden. The Women’s Land Army was involved in some urban cultivation, and the YWCA established a “Garden Army” of women who established and tended community gardens on private or public land.</p>
<h2>Lessons from the past</h2>
<p>What lessons can we learn from this history about the capacity for suburban food production to boost urban food supply in a time of prolonged scarcity?</p>
<p>The most important is that home and community food gardens can contribute meaningfully to resilient urban food systems, but as our <a href="https://theconversation.com/density-sprawl-growth-how-australian-cities-have-changed-in-the-last-30-years-65870">urban form is changing</a> we need to explicitly plan for this contribution. </p>
<p>For example, vegetable gardens need space – public or private – that is reasonably open and not crowded by trees. This is one reason why the spacious middle-ring suburbs of Melbourne were more productive than the inner city in 1941.</p>
<p>Sustainable urban food production also requires skill, knowledge and time. Much food gardening today relies heavily on purchased seedlings, manures and pesticides. Resilient food gardens need to have a range of strategies for sourcing essential inputs locally, for example through seed saving networks, composting, local livestock and fowl, and on-site rainwater collection and storage. They also need people with the time and skills to manage these systems.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/140037/original/image-20161003-7750-lx81aj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vegetable gardening needs skill and knowledge.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">PROV, VPRS 10163/P2</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This history also provides inspiration in the form of <a href="http://uwap.uwa.edu.au/products/harvest-of-the-suburbs-an-environmental-history-of-growing-food-in-australian-cities">stories of self-provisioning by everyday people</a>, such as the 56-year-old woman running a habadashery and confectionery store who in 1941 produced all the vegetables and eggs she and her sister required at their Essendon home.</p>
<p>The low-density form of much of Australia’s urban landscape provides considerable potential for sustainable and resilient food production. But our cities still need to invest in developing the skills and systems to sustain this kind of farming.</p>
<p>This is especially critical for low-income areas where resource scarcity will bite hardest. It is also a task that looks ever more challenging as <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-feed-growing-cities-we-need-to-stop-urban-sprawl-eating-up-our-food-supply-49651">farms are pushed further from the city</a>, while <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07293682.2008.9982633">standard homes on shrinking lot sizes</a> and <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02697459.2012.733525?src=recsys&amp;">poorly designed infill development</a> eat up urban garden space. </p>
<p>We may not yet be at the stage of needing a nationwide “Grow Your Own” campaign on the scale seen during wartime. But if we want to increase our cities’ resilience and sustainability, we would be foolish to ignore its lessons.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66337/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrea Gaynor receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Can suburban gardening and poultry-keeping meaningfully contribute to resilient and sustainable food systems? We look to the past to find out.Andrea Gaynor, Associate Professor of History, University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/661072016-10-25T15:25:12Z2016-10-25T15:25:12ZUrban farms won't feed our cities, but they're still a great idea – here's why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141133/original/image-20161010-3903-r90d8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mike Hardman</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Large-scale urban agriculture is on the rise globally, with more and more farms appearing in our cities. A far cry from allotments and community gardens, urban farms occupy much bigger spaces; they can employ people, regenerate huge neighbourhoods and give residents access to fresh produce on their doorsteps. </p>
<p>The practice has been popular in North America for many years, with many huge rooftop farms surrounding New York City. <a href="http://www.brooklyngrangefarm.com/">Brooklyn Grange</a>, for instance, produces close to 23,000kg of organic vegetables each year, and the world’s largest urban farm <a href="http://gothamgreens.com/our-farms/pullman">recently opened in Chicago</a>. </p>
<p>Yet investment is also opening up elsewhere, particularly in the UK, with several urban farms planned across the country over the next few years – from Greater Manchester to London, and beyond.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/143098/original/image-20161025-4696-1nvumsf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dinner?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mualphachi/4428979897/sizes/l">Maxwell Hamilton/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These spaces come in all shapes and sizes. Some have animals – for petting or for slaughter – while others train farmers or apprentices. Many are increasingly using hydroponics and other forms of technology to grow food more efficiently. </p>
<p>A good example of this is <a href="http://www.farmurban.co.uk/">Farm Urban</a> in Liverpool, which is using leftover land (including the University of Liverpool Student Union’s rooftop) for <a href="https://www.theaquaponicsource.com/what-is-aquaponics/?v=79cba1185463">aquaponics</a>: a man-made, symbiotic system where plants and aquatic animals such as fish can nourish each other.</p>
<p>Those adopting a highly technical approach appear to be more sustainable than other types of urban farms. One can often find forward-thinking individuals at the helm of the projects, using their skills to gain financial support from major businesses. For instance, <a href="http://biosphericstudio.com/">The Biospheric Studio</a> in Manchester uses hydroponics to grow mushrooms for five star restaurants, which are willing to pay for the trendy local food label. </p>
<h2>Self-sufficent cities?</h2>
<p>Although urban farming is on the rise and we are witnessing more investment, as yet there is little evidence on its value and impact. Our book on <a href="http://www.springer.com/us/book/9783319095332">Informal Urban Agriculture</a> shows there is a need for more evaluation in this area.</p>
<p>In reality, these spaces do little to improve food security among city dwellers, as they produce far less than traditional rural farms. Many attempts to bring in revenue through box schemes – where urban farms sell packages of produce to locals – often face barriers due to the lack of product. </p>
<p>Polytunnels (a tunnel-like structure under a cover, which acts like a greenhouse) and other tools can be used to increase yield. But these only go so far toward tackling the problem. Many urban farms in the UK are also suffering financially and have resorted to charging visitors, or continuously applying for grants from government and charity to sustain their work.</p>
<h2>Scene of the crime</h2>
<p>There is also the issue of vandalism, which is prevalent with all forms of urban agriculture but particularly this larger version. Early in 2016, an urban farm in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester <a href="http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/wythenshawe-park-farm-vandals-attack-11367199">was vandalised</a>, resulting in the killing and injuring of several animals. </p>
<p>This happened several years earlier too, with <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1393106/Wythenshawe-park-Vandals-behead-18-birds-slaughter-frogs-fish.html">birds decapitated</a> and other livestock injured. Expensive CCTV systems and other security measures have been put in place to deter suspects. But this does not always prevent crime and – with expensive equipment and money often kept on site – thieves are increasingly targeting urban farms. </p>
<p>However, sites which have existed for a long period often report that there is more vandalism in the first years of a project, but once there is buy-in from the community this soon dips. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/141134/original/image-20161010-3900-13d4hf2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">CCTV at Woodbank Valley Urban Farm, Birmingham.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mike Hardman</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite these barriers, our 2016 study into the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-36913655">state of urban farming</a> showed that huge positives can come out of these spaces. For example, urban farms often act as a social incubator, bringing together communities and connecting cultures. Many also impact significantly on health and well-being, allowing city-dwellers to access fresh food and sometimes even supplement diets. </p>
<p>We found that those connected to <a href="https://www.farmgarden.org.uk/">The Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens</a> were strongest. They gained value from the networking with other such sites across the UK. </p>
<p>A few in this extensive network have existed for over 30 years, and are still going due to the excellent support from both locals and the wider network. Ultimately, the idea of urban farming is not to replace traditional rural farms, but rather to complement and add value.</p>
<p>To push forward with urban farming, there’s a need to build on what works – in particular, to learn from urban farms in the US, which are expanding and are on a different scale entirely to anywhere else. </p>
<p>Global and national initiatives mean we’re likely to see more of these urban farms appearing across the world – improving city dwellers lifestyles, impacting positively on the local economy and regenerating neglected spaces, such as new farm <a href="http://kindling.org.uk/FarmStart_Stockport">Woodbank</a> in Stockport, Greater Manchester, run by <a href="http://kindling.org.uk/">The Kindling Trust</a>.</p>
<p>The capacity of urban farms to tackle major issues such as poverty and reducing food miles should not be underestimated, and with more ambitious projects starting up every day, it might not be long until you see one appearing in your neighbourhood.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/66107/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Hardman receives funding from the Pendleton Cooperative for research on urban farming. </span></em></p>Urban farms might be trendy, but they won't replace rural agriculture anytime soon.Michael Hardman, Lecturer in Geography, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/576802016-04-15T03:45:00Z2016-04-15T03:45:00ZWhy urban agriculture isn't a panacea for Africa's food crisis<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/118719/original/image-20160414-2644-b0yplm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Food security efforts need to look beyond urban agriculture.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jane Battersby</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Urban agriculture is widely <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=2UFHcPig454C&amp;printsec=frontcover&amp;dq=Thornton+has+published+a+book+Urban+Agriculture+in+South+Africa&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;redir_esc=y#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false">promoted</a> as the solution to the growing problem of <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12571-013-0295-3">urban food insecurity</a> in <a href="http://www.cabdirect.org/abstracts/20163005898.html">South Africa</a> and in <a href="http://www.fao.org/docrep/016/i3002e/i3002e.pdf">Africa</a> <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4141e.pdf">more broadly</a>. It is said to provide livelihoods and social cohesion, and have <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212095513000552">environmental benefits.</a> But it’s also promoted as having additional food security benefits.</p>
<p>It is the primary, and usually the only, food security <a href="https://www.capetown.gov.za/en/Pages/Citylobbiesfoodgardensupport.aspx">policy of local governments</a>, and the focus of many NGOs and corporate social investment programmes.</p>
<p>There is, however, very little evidence to support this level of investment and focus.</p>
<p>It is thus important to critically assess whether the promotion of urban agriculture is warranted, particularly when it is at the expense of other potential solutions. We simply cannot afford to keep polishing the lamp and hoping the genie will appear.</p>
<h2>Research shows something else</h2>
<p>Proponents of urban agriculture offer figures suggesting that as many as <a href="https://theconversation.com/uprooting-patriarchy-gender-and-urban-agriculture-on-south-africas-cape-flats-55882">40% of African urban residents</a> are involved in some form of agriculture. Such figures require far greater interrogation. In the case of Cape Town in South Africa, research conducted in low-income areas of the city in 2008 found that <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0376835X.2011.605572">less than 5% of poor residents</a> were involved in any form of urban agriculture. In reality, those most active in <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12132-014-9219-3">urban agriculture</a> were found to be wealthier people in low-income areas. </p>
<p>Context is a further determining factor. <a href="http://www.afsun.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Web-Battersby-et-al-Looking-Beyond-Urban-Agriculture.pdf">Research</a> shows that in towns where the municipal boundary extended into areas with more rural characteristics, urban agriculture was higher. </p>
<p>In South Africa this finding is supported by the <a href="http://www.afsun.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Web-Battersby-et-al-Looking-Beyond-Urban-Agriculture.pdf">2011 census</a>, which identified more than 30% of the population practising urban agriculture in medium-sized towns like Mafikeng, Polokwane and Newcastle. In Mogale City and Johannesburg, larger settlements with large urban settlements adjacent, the practice was well below 10%. And in Cape Town it was <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0376835X.2011.605572">below 5%</a>. Context, climate, soil fertility and spatial legacies all matter.</p>
<p>There is little evidence to suggest urban agriculture is contributing to food and nutrition security, either <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12132-014-9219-3">locally</a> or <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211912414000431">internationally</a>. The incomes from sales of produce are generally low, so the indirect food security benefits are limited.</p>
<h2>Assumptions without evidence</h2>
<p>The assumption in much advocacy work and policy is that urban agriculture benefits the most food-insecure households. But numerous case studies show <a href="http://www.sacities.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Urban-Food-Security-Report.pdf">this is not the case</a>. </p>
<p>Two themes are implicit in motivations for urban agriculture. The first is <a href="https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=999878190080653&amp;id=385292311539247">welfare driven</a>. The second is a narrative that calls for self-help interventions so that the poor initiate their own food security through urban agriculture. This assumes free time for the under-employed poor, who pursue multiple strategies to <a href="http://www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/dpu/latest/publications/dpu-working-papers/WP50.pdf">survive.</a></p>
<p>Linked to this is the assumption that the food insecure can get access to land, water, seeds and everything else they need. This misses the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262685535_URBAN_AGRICULTURE_AND_RACE_IN_SOUTH_AFRICA">reality of poverty</a>. State and NGO programmes do facilitate access to such resources, but the most vulnerable lack the knowledge or social networks to access these.</p>
<p>Urban agriculture is often promoted as <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03768350120097478">a means of empowerment.</a> But expecting the urban poor, who have the least access to resources, to grow their own and lift themselves out of poverty and food insecurity fails to recognise the <a href="https://books.google.co.za/books?id=dw6iAgAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PT34&amp;dq=Slocum+Battersby+Urban+Agriculture+and+race&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwi4nqXvy_7LAhVCuxQKHcafDjgQ6AEIIDAB#v=onepage&amp;q=Slocum%20Battersby%20Urban%20Agriculture%20and%20race&amp;f=false">barriers constraining urban agriculture</a>. That isn’t empowerment; it’s the cruelty of false promises.</p>
<p>So where does the dogged pursuit of urban agriculture as the solution come from?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Local governments have no direct food security mandate, as food insecurity is still considered by most states to be <a href="http://www.gov.za/sites/www.gov.za/files/37915_gon637.pdf">primarily a rural problem</a>. This means local governments wishing to address food insecurity adapt rural programmes to meet urban needs. </p></li>
<li><p>Food insecurity is seen as a <a href="http://www.nda.agric.za/docs/genreports/foodsecurity.pdf">household poverty problem</a> and not a systemic problem. The obvious household response is food production. </p></li>
<li><p>The state is largely unwilling to address the systemic drivers of food insecurity, which would entail regulating <a href="http://dspace.africaportal.org/jspui/bitstream/123456789/35493/1/PLAAS%20Rural%20Report%20Book%201%20-%20Stephen%20-%20Web.pdf?1">food companies</a> and challenging the <a href="https://nationalplanningcommission.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/ndp-2030-our-future-make-it-work_0.pdf">dominant development agenda</a>. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Looked at in this light it is possible to view the increased promotion of urban agriculture as a politically reactionary response. It claims to be aimed at fixing the worst effects of structural poverty and food insecurity. But it doesn’t actually address the <a href="http://cdm15738.contentdm.oclc.org/utils/getfile/collection/p15738coll2/id/125712/filename/125743.pdf">root causes</a>.</p>
<h2>Changes that need to be made</h2>
<p>For as long as urban agriculture remains local government’s main entry point for addressing food insecurity, it is essential that programming be improved. </p>
<p>First, more effort needs to made in monitoring and evaluation of government-run initiatives. Though inputs are monitored well, outputs and impact monitoring are extremely weak. This means many programmes are failing and lessons are not being learnt.</p>
<p>Second, many NGOs working in urban agriculture have sustainable, viable projects. Local government should work more directly with these to increase the viability of state-initiated projects.</p>
<p>And if urban agriculture is to be a main focus area for food security programming, then suitable land should be identified and protected.</p>
<p>But urban food security efforts need to look beyond urban agriculture. For example, it is essential that local governments understand the food system in which urban agriculture operates to understand why producers struggle to find markets for their goods. This would allow them to develop a range of interventions based on their existing mandates, including integrating formal and informal food retailing spaces, and supporting fresh produce markets to increase their role in local, pro-poor food value chains.</p>
<p>Finally, local governments should develop food security strategies to guide their interventions. Through these measures, urban agriculture can remain integral to efforts to alleviate food insecurity and would be more likely to have the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/284724553_Looking_beyond_urban_agriculture_Extending_urban_food_policy_responses">desired impact</a>.</p>
<p>It is clear that urban agriculture can have significant benefits for some participating <a href="https://theconversation.com/uprooting-patriarchy-gender-and-urban-agriculture-on-south-africas-cape-flats-55882">households</a>. But we are concerned about the absence of wider evidence supporting its potential to address food insecurity beyond those households. The assertion that urban agriculture can provoke systemic change is untested. Through their dogged promotion of urban agriculture, <a href="http://www.capetown.gov.za/en/Pages/Citylobbiesfoodgardensupport.aspx">the state</a> and the private sector can claim they are working towards food insecurity and have a good photo op with key personnel in wellington boots. At the same time they can absolve themselves from responsibility for the causes of food insecurity.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/57680/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gareth Haysom received funding from from CIDA (AFSUN Programme) and currently receives funding from the ESRC/DFID (Consuming Urban Poverty Project) and IDRC (Hungry Cities Partnership programme).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane Battersby has received funding from CIDA (AFSUN Programme) and FORMAS (Ways of Knowing Urban Ecology Project). She currently receives funding from the ESRC/DFID (Consuming Urban Poverty Project).</span></em></p>It's important to question whether the promotion of urban agriculture can actually help people, or whether other solutions should be explored.Gareth Haysom, Researcher at the African Centre for Cities, University of Cape TownJane Battersby, Senior Researcher in Urban Food Security and Food Systems, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/548862016-03-07T01:33:53Z2016-03-07T01:33:53ZDone like a chicken dinner: city fringes locked in battles over broiler farms<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/111886/original/image-20160218-1240-1diievu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;rect=191%2C370%2C3374%2C1532&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">&#39;Chook farms ruin lives!&#39;. Australians consume a lot of cheap chicken, but not all of them appreciate an intensive chicken factory as a neighbour. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Marco Amati</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Once upon a time, chicken was a luxury few could regularly afford. It was a rare meal reserved for special occasions. Yet since 1965 the per-capita annual consumption of chicken meat in Australia has <a href="http://www.chicken.org.au/files/_system/Image/Graphs/Consumption%20of%20meat.jpg?Production=Per+Capita+Consumption+of+Meats">increased ten-fold</a> from 4.6 kilograms per person in 1965 to 44.6 kilograms in 2012. </p>
<p>The retail price of chicken per kilogram has <a href="http://www.chicken.org.au/files/_system/Image/Graphs/Retail%20Price%20of%20Meat%20in%202010%20dollars.jpg?Production=Retail+Price+in+2010+Dollars">decreased steadily</a> in real terms from around A$9.67 in 1986 to A$5.67 in 2009. The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMQrtLRjOV0">arrival of Kentucky Fried Chicken in Australia in 1968</a> coincided with rapid increases in consumption. Today, Australians consume <a href="http://www.chicken.org.au/files/_system/Image/Graphs/Chicken%20Meat%20Production%20-%20detailed.jpg?Production=Production">more than 600 million chickens per year</a>. </p>
<p>The vast majority is produced in intensive “broiler” farms. How does chicken production and consumption on such a scale affect the foodbowls on the outskirts of our cities? </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113513/original/image-20160302-25866-1twp1rj.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australians consume over 600 million chickens each year, with the price of chicken having fallen steadily since the 1960s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Andrew Butt</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Intensive chicken farms need to be within about one hour of processing sites. Farms also need to be close to feed supplies and hatcheries, as they are run as highly integrated systems.</p>
<p>Partly because of this, the chicken meat industry in Victoria is concentrated within about 200 kilometres of Melbourne. Similar patterns occur in other Australian regions. </p>
<p>As the industry has sought efficiencies of scale, the size of farms has increased. Whereas farms of the 1970s might have housed 10,000 chickens, they now routinely hold 80,000 to more than one million chickens, producing five batches of chickens per year. Yet as producers have grown, the numbers of suitable urban fringe spaces – close enough to processing plants, but far enough from neighbours and sensitive land uses – are dwindling.</p>
<p>One reason is the growth in popularity of peri-urban areas to live in. “Counter-urbanisation” or “tree-changing” has been underway since the 1970s. Whether in Germany, the US or the Netherlands, it seems rural and peri-urban residents have little desire to live near a “<a href="https://saynomoolortchook.wordpress.com/">monster chicken factory</a>”. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02697459.2015.1028252">In a recent paper</a> we analysed 59 planning appeals related to broiler farms in Victoria between 1969 and 2013. Concerns about the farms have included odour, noise, dust, vermin, truck traffic, impacts on tourism, and water use and pollution.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112826/original/image-20160224-16425-1lijx2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112826/original/image-20160224-16425-1lijx2i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The size of intensive chicken farm proposals has increased in Victoria since the 1960s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Authors</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Broiler farm planning disputes appear to channel more intractable issues than odour control. It is possible that, on some level, having one million chickens <em>not</em> smell is unsettling in its own way. </p>
<p>As more chicken meat is produced, and in ever more technologically intensive ways, conflicts over farm applications inevitably unlock community disquiet about factory farming. The allowable forum for legitimate opposition, however, is narrow. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113978/original/image-20160307-17734-s8xbk4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113978/original/image-20160307-17734-s8xbk4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Images promoting chicken products are more likely to evoke rural scenes like the one above than remind us of the broiler farm (below).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/scotthessphoto/17083758332/in/photolist-4pgadE-6UvuL6-9w56Dj-6UvqPX-6Uvjd4-6Uzxk1-6UziVb-53Ro1j-6Uzmnh-6UvxCx-6Uviav-8Kr7WX-6Uvr2k-6Uzupm-53M1o6-wPruwd-53M6EZ-6UzkRJ-9GwgyH-6UvuvB-AwqoT2-C8zY48-6UzAr9-a3tVFZ-6UvtWp-6UvtfF-rZsTp5-xY83Pi-6UzzXG-5g53aU-6UzxwG-6UvhSD-ziqTyk-tgsKa5-6UvhPg-t2cahG-wyEHUS-m3aWw-vrokoL-uZhMXH-s2CJas-s2Lpz8-s2CJgu-rwho8p-tNAevG-tNAnus-uKBj4i-tNL3gB-uHhBHh-AEZDtn">flickr/Scott Hess</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113685/original/image-20160303-9496-96pibe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113685/original/image-20160303-9496-96pibe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ugacommunications/16555376156/in/photolist-rdWCxW-7e9T9Q-59gQRS-7e61Cg-7X8nb9-yj1yR-7e9TuE-faW5gV-7e9TmU-fbbfxy-fbbfP7-fbbmys-7e61Hg-faW67D-7DxN3c-5YHx2W-5LsWVn-7DxNbZ-5LxcK5-7DBAZj-5YDiD2-fbbjZj-faNp6B-8KdrXi-fgjG13-faMCmZ-7yxxN8-7yBkM5-8Xm3A8-fKAeWU-fKAeU1-eQniQY-faMCQn-7fieFX-4PfyWc-jQY6WZ-7yBkPm-gSfxum-7yBkRf-b3MobX-faW29M-8frnAx-fbbjyy-faW18D-fbbgWN-faW5CK-faVZMz-fbbm7C-7e614t-ebMEg5">flickr/Michael Czarick</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Intensive farming is often simply inconsistent with community expectations. The “unknowns” of industrialised agriculture are normally hidden from view in bucolic images on food packaging, and in the marketing of rural real estate as a “lifestyle” choice. Responses to the reality of broiler proposals – however technically well planned – sometimes seem rooted in the loss of this comforting, romanticised view. </p>
<p>In Victoria, the solution has been to regulate away the noise, smell and dust of a farm, mandate separation distances and even set aside areas with clear “rights to farm” and those with rights to “the good life”. The recent announcement of an inquiry in Victoria into the industry has a strong focus on resolving conflicts through siting and separation. </p>
<p>Yet the use of such an approach in Victoria has raised concerns about creating <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/sinodisp/au/cases/vic/PPV/2013/148">“sterilised” regions</a> where no uses but industrial farms are permitted. Opponents to industrial farms also express concerns that proponents exploit loopholes and that a codified buffer distance privileges intensive farms rather than resolving conflicting land use issues. </p>
<p>On the other hand, less control arguably generates more conflict, as in parts of <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13549830500203246">Canada</a> and <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1525/cag.2005.27.1.45/full">Texas</a>. There, industrial, corporate-run farming operations dominate vast, generally lower socioeconomic areas. But as farms expand, divisive neighbourhood battles are still fought out. </p>
<p>Our research indicates that the use of buffer spaces around farms, guidelines and rights can achieve only so much. Despite the presence of clear guidelines, a recent proposal for a 1.2 million-bird farm in Baringhup, near Castlemaine, has led to more than two years of planning dispute and may result in <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-05/baringhup-chicken-broiler-farms/7067956">Supreme Court action</a>. </p>
<p>Conflicts between opponents and proponents of intensive farming will continue in rural areas. Fanning the flames is the growing demand for low-priced chicken (and an ongoing <a href="http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/radio/hamish-and-andy-launch-war-on-nuggets-with-nugraid/news-story/149965fc085e5248be8d939c2ab6a24d">chicken nugget price “war”</a>). </p>
<p>Local governments and decision-makers in Australia remain under-resourced to deal with opposition to the increasing scale of broiler farms. By advocating for a new understanding of what a rural and an urban area “means”, planning is at the coal face for negotiating politically acceptable outcomes to such conflicts. Yet a look at the images used to market farm products reveals what an uphill struggle this is.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/54886/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Taylor has received funding from AHURI, the Henry Halloran Trust, and Carlton Connect. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Butt and Marco Amati do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As consumption has soared and prices have fallen, the realities of industrial chicken farming often clash with the values of people who live on the urban fringes where broiler farms are sited.Elizabeth Taylor, Vice Chancellor's Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, RMIT UniversityAndrew Butt, Senior Lecturer in Community Planning and Development, La Trobe UniversityMarco Amati, Associate Professor of International Planning, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/555022016-03-02T19:02:56Z2016-03-02T19:02:56ZIt takes a lot of water to feed us, but recycled water could help<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113461/original/image-20160301-31040-1swbiw0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Artichokes growing in Werribee South, an area that uses recycled water for irrigation</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jen Sheridan</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australians eat a lot of water – the water that is used to produce our food. New findings from our <a href="http://www.ecoinnovationlab.com/project_content/foodprint-melbourne/">Foodprint Melbourne study</a> estimate that <a href="http://www.ecoinnovationlab.com/project_content/water-needed-to-grow-food-for-melbourne/">more than 475 litres of water is used to grow each person’s food every day</a>. </p>
<p>This is just the irrigation water used to grow our food. We consume much more than 475 L if you include rainwater (which isn’t tracked in national water accounts) or water used in processing and manufacturing. </p>
<p>To put this in context, the amount of water used to grow food for Melbourne each year (758 GL) is around double the amount of water <a href="http://www.melbournewater.com.au/aboutus/reportsandpublications/Annual-Report/Pages/annual-report.aspx">used in people’s homes (376 GL)</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/113462/original/image-20160301-31056-7xe9uw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Water used to feed Melbourne.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.ecoinnovationlab.com/project_content/water-needed-to-grow-food-for-melbourne/">Jennifer Sheridan</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The amount of water needed to feed Australia will increase as the population grows, but the <a href="https://ipcc-wg2.gov/AR5/images/uploads/WGIIAR5-Chap25_FINAL.pdf">availability of water for food production is likely to decrease</a>, due to the <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/climate-change/climate-science/impacts/vic">impacts of climate change</a> and greater competition. This could reduce food production in the nation’s major food bowl, the Murray-Darling Basin. </p>
<p>A lack of water for food production could lead to rising food prices, as was seen during Australia’s Millennium Drought. Between 2005 and 2007 food prices increased at twice the rate of the Consumer Price Index. <a href="https://www.acfonline.org.au/sites/default/files/resources/Climate_change_and_food_prices_in_Australia.pdf">Fruit and vegetable prices increased by 33-43%</a>. </p>
<h2>Recycling rules</h2>
<p>As competition for water increases, recycled water is likely to become more important. <a href="http://www.coliban.com.au/site/root/operations/documents/CW_Rec_Definitions_2012-version2.pdf">Recycled water can be used to produce food</a> if treated to a high standard. </p>
<p>It is already used to produce food in irrigation schemes near <a href="http://www.srw.com.au/page/Page.asp?Page_Id=323&amp;h=-1">Melbourne</a> and <a href="http://trility.com.au/projects/water-reticulation-systems-virginia-wrsv/">Adelaide</a> that use water from city water treatment plants. But relatively little of the available recycled water is used. Recycled water accounts for just 1% of the <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4618.0">irrigation water used for agriculture</a> in Australia. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/to-feed-growing-cities-we-need-to-stop-urban-sprawl-eating-up-our-food-supply-49651">City fringe foodbowls</a> present a unique opportunity to reduce the vulnerability of food production to drought, because they are close to sources of recycled water from city water treatment plants. </p>
<p>Melbourne has two main treatment plants in the east and west, which are close to key vegetable-growing areas in Melbourne’s west (<a href="http://www.foodalliance.org.au/werribee-food-production/">Werribee</a>) and south-east (<a href="http://www.foodalliance.org.au/casey-cardinia-food-production/">Casey, Cardinia</a> and the <a href="http://www.foodalliance.org.au/mornington-peninsula-food-production/">Mornington Peninsula</a>). </p>
<p>Around 6% of the water from these treatment plants is used for agriculture and 10% is used in other ways. The other 84% of the recycled water is disposed of at sea.</p>
<p>Not all of the recycled water produced by Melbourne’s water treatment plants can currently be used for agriculture. A significant amount of the water is produced during winter, outside of the main growing season, and Melbourne lacks the infrastructure to store the recycled water and to pipe it to farmers. </p>
<p>Farmers can also experience <a href="http://www.srw.com.au/Files/Technical_reports/On_Farm_Demonstration_Site_Project_Final_Report.pdf">issues with water quality</a>. They may need to adjust some farming practices to use recycled water effectively. </p>
<p>However, our findings suggest that just 10% of the recycled water available from the city’s treatment plants could produce enough vegetables to <a href="http://www.ecoinnovationlab.com/project_content/water-needed-to-grow-food-for-melbourne/">meet around half of the needs of Melbourne’s population</a>. That would make a valuable contribution to the security of the city’s food supply. </p>
<h2>Investing for the future</h2>
<p>Investments in infrastructure to store and deliver recycled water to more farmers could “drought proof” some parts of Melbourne’s food bowl, securing local vegetable production in these areas. </p>
<p>Similar arguments have been made recently in South Australia. <a href="https://www.sawater.com.au/current-projects/northern-adelaide-irrigation-scheme">A proposal to store recycled water produced during winter</a> at one of Australia’s largest recycled water schemes, the Virginia Pipeline Scheme, would <a href="https://www.sawater.com.au/current-projects/northern-adelaide-irrigation-scheme">make water available to farmers during the growing season</a>.</p>
<p>The importance of investing in infrastructure to use recycled water for food production became clear in Victoria during Australia’s Millennium Drought. In 2004, <a href="http://www.srw.com.au/page/page.asp?page_id=156">the Victorian government decided to invest in upgrading treatment</a> at Melbourne’s Western Treatment Plant at Werribee. This meant recycled water could be used as a “supplementary” source of water for vegetable farmers in nearby <a href="http://www.foodalliance.org.au/werribee-food-production/">Werribee South</a>, one of the state’s most important areas of vegetable production. </p>
<p>By 2006, very little river or groundwater was available. <a href="http://www.srw.com.au/Files/Technical_reports/WID_REIP_Final_July_2009.pdf">Recycled water became the main source of water for vegetable growers</a> in the area, enabling production to continue through the drought. </p>
<p>Australia has some of the largest recycled water initiatives in the world. The use of recycled water for agriculture is also growing in <a href="http://pacinst.org/publication/recycled-water-and-agriculture/">other regions experiencing water pressures, such as California</a>. </p>
<p>As a dry region that is likely to become drier in future, there are good reasons for Australia to expand the use of recycled water for food production, particularly in city food bowls, and to invest now in infrastructure that will secure supplies of local fresh foods for the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55502/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Carey is a Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne on the Foodprint Melbourne project, which is funded by the Lord Mayor&#39;s Charitable Foundation. Project partners include the City of Melbourne and the peak bodies representing the local government areas in Melbourne&#39;s city fringe foodbowl. She is also a Research Fellow on the project &#39;Regulating Food Labels: The case of free range food products in Australia&#39;, which is funded by the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jennifer Sheridan is a researcher on the Foodprint Melbourne project, which receives funding from and partners with the organisations listed above.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Seona Candy is a researcher on the Foodprint Melbourne project, which receives funding from and partners with the organisations listed above. She has previously received funding from an Australian Research Council Linkage grant on the project ‘Modelling policy interventions to protect Australia&#39;s food security in the face of environmental sustainability challenges’ (LP120100168), a collaboration between researchers at the Victorian Eco-Innovation Lab (VEIL) at the University of Melbourne, Deakin University and Australian National University. </span></em></p>Australians eat a lot of water. Nearly 500 L is required to produce the food each of us eats every day.Rachel Carey, Research Fellow, University of MelbourneJennifer Sheridan, Researcher in sustainable food systems, University of MelbourneSeona Candy, Research Fellow: Sustainable Food Systems, University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/551562016-02-24T19:03:05Z2016-02-24T19:03:05ZUrban sprawl is threatening Sydney's foodbowl<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112649/original/image-20160223-16422-49oo0z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sydney&#39;s farms on the urban fringe produce 10% of the city&#39;s fresh vegetables.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/avlxyz/3830023504/in/photolist-6QnMoZ-6QrV7L-6QnQae-6QnQs8-fPxGqz-6QrT6S-6QnP8P-c9BtAu-6QrShL-6QrTXm-6QrSy1-5h5BkV-5h5Exe-6QnLyn-6QnQCk-6QnMXz-eqv9Hn-5hioUu-6QnNHB-2Tpp7q-2Tpneo-6QrTEh-5hioRW-dV7c9n-6QrVPh-dV7c3i-dVcMq5-d3q7iW-odvEcC-6QrURb-akQmRa-6QnNT8-deZBmQ-dV5L28-9pqX16-cA7xnW-afUB7x-7Xzjvz-7XCy8u-9pqXxT-9pqXZx-dj7cyp-qEEA1P-pUTaZT-bHhgEn-ifXqaC-5h9UJL-9ptUHJ-85PVEP-ei7M5t">Alpha/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sydney loves to talk about food, and the housing market. But rarely do we talk about the threat that housing poses to the resilience of Sydney’s food system.</p>
<p>If we continue along the path we’re on, Sydney stands to lose more than <a href="http://www.sydneyfoodfutures.net/interactive-maps/">90% of its current fresh vegetable production</a>. Total food production could drop by 60% and the city’s supply of food from within the basin could drop from 20% of total food demand to a mere 6%.</p>
<p>Like most Australian cities, Sydney is facing an influx of people – <a href="http://www.planning.nsw.gov.au/Plans-for-Your-Area/Sydney/A-Plan-for-Growing-Sydney">1.6 million new residents</a> are expected over the next 15 years. </p>
<p>Competing priorities for land are compounded by this growing population, as well as by planning laws that favour development over agriculture – not to mention a changing climate. Cities worldwide are facing the same issues as we try to feed a growing population with limited resources. </p>
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</figure>
<h2>Protecting farmers</h2>
<p>Sydney’s fertile soils are being paved over at a rapid rate. Large portions of areas that currently grow Sydney’s fresh produce are earmarked for release for housing development.</p>
<p>Currently, the planning system does not prioritise agriculture as a land use, meaning urban sprawl into potential farmland continues relatively unchecked. Instead, planning tends to focus on whichever use has the greatest economic value. </p>
<p>In an overheated housing market such as Sydney’s, this tends to mean agricultural land is allowed to be rezoned for houses or other higher-value land uses.</p>
<p>As city land prices rise, more people are moving further out for a “<a href="http://www.wollondilly.nsw.gov.au/assets/PDF/Planning-and-Development/SPUN/20140701-Can-you-have-your-Chook-and-Eat-it-too-Peri-URban-COnference-2014-paper.pdf">tree change</a>”. Lower land prices on the city’s fringe allow families to purchase large homes and lots at a lower price than in the city. </p>
<p>But many of these new rural residents don’t like the early morning sound of tractors and the smell of manure on neighbouring farms, and make nuisance complaints to their local council. These complaints often result in tough operating restrictions being placed on farmers’ activities, such as limits on hours of operation and types of fertiliser that can be used.</p>
<p>These restrictions are introduced by councils to appease local residents and are in accordance with <a href="http://wollondilly.nsw.gov.au/assets/PDF/Planning-and-Development/SPUN/20150928-Sydney-Peri-Urban-Network-Issues-Paper.pdf">noise pollution laws designed for urban residential areas</a>. But they can have significant impacts on farm viability. In several instances, such restrictions have pushed marginal farms into the red, eventually forcing farmers off their land and out of the basin. </p>
<p>The New South Wales government is interested in taking steps to ameliorate this problem, as demonstrated through its recently tabled <a href="http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/agriculture/resources/lup/legislation/right-to-farm-policy">Right to Farm policy</a>. This seeks to ensure that farmers’ right to operate their business is protected against nuisance complaints.</p>
<h2>Why growing food in Sydney is important</h2>
<p>There are enormous benefits to growing fresh food in the Sydney basin – and, indeed, near any city. Perishable foods such as Asian greens and eggs can be grown close to market, reducing spoilage, waste and <a href="http://www.foodmiles.com">food miles</a>, and buffering against spikes in fuel prices. </p>
<p>Agriculture and food processing are labour-intensive, providing significant local job opportunities. In fact, <a href="http://wollondilly.nsw.gov.au/assets/PDF/Planning-and-Development/SPUN/20150928-Sydney-Peri-Urban-Network-Issues-Paper.pdf">the benefit of Sydney’s agriculture to the economy is estimated at upwards of A$4.5 billion</a>. This includes jobs in storage, processing, transport and retail. </p>
<p>A changing climate will mean many of Australia’s important foodbowls, such as the Murray-Darling Basin, are likely to be more vulnerable to droughts and floods. Sydney’s higher rainfall and fertile soils will become even more suitable for growing food, meaning their importance to Sydney’s food supply will grow.</p>
<p>Farms on the fringes of our city will help buffer the city against the impacts of climate change, by cooling the city and helping wildlife move between habitat. </p>
<p>Food produced in close proximity to the city can also be fertilised by nutrients and organics in urban food waste, garden waste and wastewater. Accounting for these sources, Sydney actually has <a href="http://www.p-futurescities.net/sydney-australia/#MappingSydney">15 times more phosphorus supply than agricultural demand</a>. That means local food systems can better buffer against the growing global threat of <a href="http://phosphorusfutures.net/the-phosphorus-challenge/the-story-of-phosphorus-8-reasons-why-we-need-to-rethink-the-management-of-phosphorus-resources-in-the-global-food-system/">phosphorus fertiliser scarcity</a>, a threat that could lead to further fertiliser price spikes and supply disruptions.</p>
<p>Sydney’s farms also help buffer the city against disruptions to food supply. For example, if a bushfire or fuel shortage cut transport routes into Sydney, the city would have only <a href="http://www.wollondilly.nsw.gov.au/assets/PDF/Planning-and-Development/SPUN/20150901-Agri-Reference-Group-Response-June-2013-to-Draft-Metropolitan-Strategy-Review.pdf">two days’ stock of fresh produce</a>.</p>
<p>Our research shows that in the face of dramatically increasing population, Sydney stands to lose these benefits.</p>
<p>A similar <a href="http://www.ecoinnovationlab.com/project_content/foodprint-melbourne/">study in Melbourne</a> found their city’s foodbowl could <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-feed-growing-cities-we-need-to-stop-urban-sprawl-eating-up-our-food-supply-49651">plummet from meeting 41% of Melburnians’ food demand to 20%</a>.</p>
<p>Unlike Melbourne, Sydney is geographically constrained by mountains on one side and ocean on the other, meaning there is nowhere for agricultural production in the basin to go. Our agricultural production is literally being chased to the hills – and this at a time when we face the challenge of feeding over a million extra mouths.</p>
<p>We’ve <a href="http://www.sydneyfoodfutures.net/interactive-maps">mapped Sydney’s current and future food production</a>. The pink areas of the images below are areas where food is produced. As the maps indicate, the areas producing food in 2031 will dramatically decrease if we continue along the path we’re on. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112641/original/image-20160223-29156-w73069.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112641/original/image-20160223-29156-w73069.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sydney’s peri-urban farms produce 20% of the city’s food supply.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Institute for Sustainable Futures UTS</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112643/original/image-20160223-16416-sbgwc5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/112643/original/image-20160223-16416-sbgwc5.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">If we allowed unchecked urban sprawl, Sydney’s farms might produce only 6% of the city’s food supply.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Institute for Sustainable Futures UTS</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A better food future</h2>
<p>Our city plans need to value and better protect agriculture from urban sprawl. Planners need to make decisions based on evidence to balance competing land uses.</p>
<p>These decisions need to take account of the full suite of values and benefits we gain from Sydney farmers, not just the economic gains we stand to achieve by converting the land to houses. </p>
<p>Farmers in the basin need better commercial conditions, a fair price for commodities, land security and support from other residents.</p>
<p>Sydneysiders need access to affordable housing, jobs and infrastructure. </p>
<p>But, equally, they need access to nutritious and affordable food, reversing the high rate of obesity and diabetes, and “<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-08/food-deserts-have-serious-consequences-for-residents-experts/6605230">food deserts</a>” without access to groceries particularly prevalent in Western Sydney.</p>
<p>Through increased awareness and accessibility, food shoppers can also support local food producers, increasing the resilience of Sydney’s food system and simultaneously reducing the environmental footprint of food.</p>
<p>However, strategic policies and plans are needed to ensure that agriculture is valued and prioritised as an important land use and economic activity within our city, to ensure that buying local food is a choice that consumers can make in future. </p>
<p><em><a href="http://www.sydneyfoodfutures.net">Read more at Sydney’s Food Futures</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/55156/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dana Cordell received funding for this project from the Building Resilience to Climate Change Grant, through Local Government NSW, the Office of Environment and Heritage and the NSW Environment Trust. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brent Jacobs received funding for this project from the Building Resilience to Climate Change Grants, through Local Government NSW, the Office of Environment and Heritage and the NSW Environment Trust.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>The researchers received funding for this project from the Building Resilience to Climate Change Grant, through Local Government NSW, the Office of Environment and Heritage and the NSW Environment Trust. </span></em></p>Farms on Sydney's fringes supply 20% of the city's food. That could drop by more than half if urban sprawl isn't kept in check.Dana Cordell, Research Principal, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology SydneyBrent Jacobs, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology SydneyLaura Wynne, Senior Research Consultant, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/496512015-10-26T02:29:45Z2015-10-26T02:29:45ZTo feed growing cities we need to stop urban sprawl eating up our food supply<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99580/original/image-20151025-27601-jxkwfg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New season asparagus from farmland on Melbourne&#39;s city fringe</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Matthew Carey</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’ve eaten any of the new season’s asparagus recently, it probably came from Koo Wee Rup, a small town 60 kilometres to the south east of Melbourne. Koo Wee Rup produces <a href="http://www.foodalliance.org.au/casey-cardinia-food-production/">over 90% of Australia’s asparagus</a>. The region has perfect conditions for asparagus growing, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-good-earth-peaty-black-vertosol-and-asparagus-13049">its ancient peaty soils have a reputation</a> for producing some of the best asparagus in the world. </p>
<p>Koo Wee Rup is just one of many food growing areas on the urban fringe of Australia’s state capitals that make an important contribution to the nation’s fresh food supply. The foodbowls on the fringe of cities like Sydney and Melbourne are <a href="http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/osisdv/sustainable_development_of_agricultural_business/submissions/T._Budge_Attach_3.pdf">some of the most highly productive agricultural regions</a> in Australia.</p>
<p>But as these cities expand to accommodate rapidly growing populations, fertile farmland on the city fringe is at risk due to urban sprawl. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/99578/original/image-20151025-27580-iggfp9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Melbourne Foodbowl at 7 million infographic.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Foodprint Melbourne project</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Melbourne’s foodprint</h2>
<p>Early findings from a new study of food production on Melbourne’s city fringe highlight the impact that continued urban sprawl could have on the supply of fresh, local foods in Australia’s cities. The <a href="http://www.ecoinnovationlab.org/project_content/melbourne-urban-sprawl-infographic/">Foodprint Melbourne</a> project is investigating the capacity of Melbourne’s city fringe foodbowl to feed the population of Greater Melbourne. </p>
<p>The research explores the capacity of Melbourne’s foodbowl to feed the current population of 4.4 million and the <a href="http://www.dtpli.vic.gov.au/data-and-research/population/census-2011/victoria-in-future-2015">predicted future population</a> of around 7 million in 2050. The project also investigates the city’s “foodprint” – the amount of land, water and energy required to feed the city, as well as associated greenhouse gas emissions. </p>
<p>Early project findings indicate that Melbourne’s foodbowl currently has the capacity to supply a significant proportion of Greater Melbourne’s food needs across a wide variety of foods, including poultry, eggs, red meat, dairy, fruit and vegetables. The city’s foodbowl <a href="http://www.ecoinnovationlab.org/project_content/melbourne-urban-sprawl-infographic/">can supply just over 40% of the food needed to feed Greater Melbourne</a>, including over 80% of the fresh vegetables consumed and around 13% of fruit. </p>
<p>However, we can’t be certain exactly how much of this food is currently consumed in Melbourne, because food freight isn’t tracked within the state or between Victoria and other states. </p>
<h2>Food in 2050</h2>
<p>By 2050, 60% more food will be needed to feed a population of around 7 million in Greater Melbourne, but if the city continues to sprawl at its current rate, then it is likely to lose a significant amount of farmland, and the city’s foodbowl will only be able to meet around 18% of the city’s food needs, including just 21% of the fresh vegetables consumed and 3% of fruit. </p>
<p>One of the long term impacts of this loss of capacity in Melbourne’s foodbowl is likely to be higher food prices, due to the increased costs of transporting and cooling foods over longer distances. Many of the foods produced on the city fringe are highly perishable – foods such as leafy greens, broccoli, mushrooms and berry fruits. These foods have historically been grown in market gardens on the city fringe close to consumers, and they require energy-intensive refrigerated transportation to reduce spoilage. </p>
<p>Another likely impact of reduced capacity in the city’s foodbowl is increasing vulnerability in Melbourne’s food supply. Both global and local food supplies are becoming more volatile, with significant impacts from climate change. Droughts, storms and floods are increasingly likely to affect our food supply. To maintain a stable and resilient food supply in the future, cities need to have the capacity to source fresh foods locally, as well from national and global sources.</p>
<h2>Eat local</h2>
<p>Australia produces a large surplus of some types of foods, exporting around 60% of all food produced. Australia has an enviable capacity for food production, but our perception of the nation as a land of plenty masks vulnerabilities in future food supply. </p>
<p>Less <a href="http://www.foodalliance.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Buxton-and-Carey-2014.pdf">than 10% of Australia’s land</a> is suitable for agriculture, and only a small proportion of this land has the type of soil and water access that is appropriate for growing fruit and vegetables. Much of it is on the coastal fringe of Australia around our major cities. </p>
<p>As Australia’s cities expand to accommodate rapidly growing populations, urban sprawl could mean that locally grown fruit and vegetables become scarcer in future. Cities such as Melbourne and Sydney need to plan now for how to feed their growing populations by introducing measures to protect their urban fringe foodbowls. </p>
<p>One of the ways that we can all contribute to protecting our city foodbowls is by buying from the producers who farm there, what Michael Pollan calls <a href="http://michaelpollan.com/articles-archive/eat-your-view/">“eating the view”</a>. It can be difficult to know where fruit and vegetables in supermarkets are from, but farmers markets and local vegetable box schemes offer a way of buying locally grown fruit and vegetables. </p>
<p><em>Foodprint Melbourne is a joint project between the <a href="http://www.ecoinnovationlab.org/">Victorian Eco-Innovation Laboratory</a> at the University of Melbourne and Deakin University. These early project findings have been released as an infographic, and a full report will be made available in November 2015. For more information, see the <a href="http://www.ecoinnovationlab.org/project/foodprint-melbourne/">project website</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/49651/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rachel Carey is a Research Fellow on the Foodprint Melbourne project, which is funded by the Lord Mayor&#39;s Charitable Foundation. Project partners include the City of Melbourne and the peak bodies representing the local government areas in Melbourne&#39;s city fringe foodbowl. She is also a Research Fellow at Monash University on the project &#39;Regulating Food Labels: The case of free range food products in Australia&#39;, which is funded by the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jen Sheridan is a researcher on the Foodprint Melbourne project, which receives funding from and partners with the organisations listed above.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kirsten Larsen is a researcher on the Foodprint Melbourne project, which receives funding from and partners with the organisations listed above. Through the Victorian Eco-Innovation Lab at the University of Melbourne, she has also received funds from the Australian Research Council for &#39;Modelling policy interventions to protect Australia&#39;s food security in the face of environmental sustainability challenges&#39;. Kirsten is also a Director of the Open Food Foundation, which has received money from the Victorian Department of Health and Vichealth. </span></em></p>Melbourne's farms currently supply over 40% of the city's food. But a growing population and urban sprawl mean by 2050 they'll supply half as much.Rachel Carey, Research fellow, Deakin UniversityJennifer Sheridan, Researcher in sustainable food systems, University of MelbourneKirsten Larsen, Manager, Food Systems Research and Partnerships, University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/409492015-06-18T04:37:49Z2015-06-18T04:37:49ZHere's what better relations with the US mean for city farms in Cuba<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/81510/original/image-20150513-32337-1tm17id.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cuba has a unique and highly productive agricultural system in the cities and on the fringes of suburbia.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/santoposmoderno/12698826744/in/photolist-km9NLG-awpxNM-awsevf-awsdaN-9oMQzM-aHdVYR-aHdMyP-4q7Xwx-iTyJes-dMmsWg-nKUtDs-aHdP7D-9oMQGn-95vHXt-a7F3MW-a6CQgw-pixKTs-qXUdGZ-9t4fhV-aZNXBc-e4qJu4-qVGWMb-shPH35-aZZQsi-a7zmX7-e4pcbU-qFCnnZ-h58i48-o3AXH5-aZZRT6-e4pgNj-qFxCy2-iEGaek-9t4g6g-a7rNVt-ccoHij-bYCKLj-aZZg3e-9JrWqu-nT6qx9-d5YUvf-5aj8AC-eqf9MD-a7Fb19-8Bwt5x-9oQJdq-qqJVYN-esMsKF-CUwXC-CUwAY">Javier Ignacio Acuña Ditzel/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>For more than 20 years, Cuba has been developing a sophisticated urban and suburban food system, producing healthy food, improving the environment and providing employment. </p>
<p>But how will the sector survive if the economy opens up to US agricultural and industrial trade and investment? </p>
<h2>Born out of hardship</h2>
<p>The first urban farms emerged spontaneously in Cuba out of the hardships of the early 1990s. People in towns and cities began to cultivate urban waste land and keep small livestock as a coping strategy. </p>
<p>Possibly the first co-ordinated effort was the Santa Fe project in the north-west of Havana City, initiated in 1991. Taking advantage of the available resources within the community, empty urban space was reclaimed for food production to help overcome irregular and inadequate food supplies.</p>
<p>The principles of <a href="http://www.taylorandfrancis.com/books/details/9780415507349/">organic, or agroecological, farming</a> were used to overcome the lack of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. These included making compost from local resources: manure, worm farms and food waste. Here, organic and agroecological farming are synonymous, meaning basically to farm in harmony with nature. </p>
<p>Soon the Cuban government <a href="http://foodfirst.org/publication/cultivating-havana-urban-agriculture-and-food-security-in-the-years-of-crisis/">recognised the potential of urban agriculture</a>, and incorporated it into the National Food Action Plan. It offered support by making land available, providing extension services supplying education, seeds and other resources, and organising marketing.</p>
<p>In 1994 the government established a Department of Urban Agriculture, and in 1997 this became the National Programme of Urban Agriculture and part of the Ministry of Agriculture. </p>
<h2>Suburban agriculture: the great hope for feeding cities?</h2>
<p>The Cuban urban agriculture movement’s achievements over the past 20 years were reviewed at the International Conference on Urban and Suburban Agriculture and Family Farming in Havana in April 2015, organised by the International Centre for Fundamental Research on Tropical Agriculture (INIFAT).</p>
<p>It has retained <a href="http://foodfirst.org/publication/sustainable-agriculture-and-resistance-transforming-food-production-in-cuba/">three basic principles</a>: an agroecological approach; the use of local resources; and the direct marketing of produce to the consumer. In 2013 Family Farming was added to the programme. </p>
<p>But there is an increasing emphasis on growing food in “suburban” (or peri-urban) areas – the agricultural zone just outside the city – which has deeper soils and more available land. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/81511/original/image-20150513-32307-19ply6e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Peri-urban farms on the outskirts of cities have more space to grow crops on a larger scale.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/yosoynuts/6373710181/in/photolist-aHdVYR-aHdMyP-4q7Xwx-iTyJes-dMmsWg-nKUtDs-aHdP7D-9oMQGn-95vHXt-a7F3MW-a6CQgw-pixKTs-qXUdGZ-9t4fhV-aZNXBc-e4qJu4-qVGWMb-shPH35-aZZQsi-a7zmX7-e4pcbU-qFCnnZ-h58i48-o3AXH5-aZZRT6-e4pgNj-qFxCy2-iEGaek-9t4g6g-a7rNVt-ccoHij-bYCKLj-aZZg3e-9JrWqu-nT6qx9-d5YUvf-5aj8AC-eqf9MD-a7Fb19-8Bwt5x-9oQJdq-qqJVYN-esMsKF-CUwXC-CUwAY-CUwMw-9JoMAn-hVyrJm-esQGid-dMrj5b">yosoynuts/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Urban agriculture is limited by space and mainly provides salad vegetables, some fruits, small animals and herbs. However, peri-urban farms can provide the full range of foods- including grains, livestock, and tubers- and remain close enough to deliver fresh produce without high distribution costs. </p>
<p>Data at the April conference showed that the The National Programme of Urban and Suburban Agriculture now covers 12,600 square kilometres nationally (14% of agricultural land), including a belt of 10km around Havana and each provincial capital, 5km around each municipal capital and 1-2km around each settlement of more than 1,000 inhabitants. </p>
<p>In all, the sector has created more than 350,000 jobs, of which just under half are taken by women and young people. In 2013 it produced just over half of total national production of horticultural crops, or 1 million tonnes. </p>
<p>This has enabled a five-fold rise in consumption of fresh vegetables between 1997 and 2013. The aim is to supply 460g of fresh food per person per day, in line with guidelines of the Cuban Ministry of Public Health. </p>
<h2>An innovative model – with implications beyond Cuba</h2>
<p>Cuba’s urban and peri-urban farming represents a clear contrast with centralised and large scale production systems. These still exist to some extent in rural areas of the country, and dominate worldwide. </p>
<p>While peri-urban agriculture in other countries may bring conventional agriculture nearer to the city, Cuba is taking its model of organic urban production out to the countryside. </p>
<p>The Cuban model of urban and peri-urban agriculture is constantly drawing from and adapting foreign methods. The emphasis now is on efficiency and profitability, and there is growing awareness of value chains, multiple stakeholders and differentiated consumers, all if which make it more relevant to the economic and market structures of other countries. Yet it still builds on the main goals of the Cuban system- improving food security and strengthening sovereignty. </p>
<p>The learning and exchange is a two-way process: Cuban-based INIFAT is providing technical assistance on urban agriculture to more than ten countries, mainly in Latin America. </p>
<p>Cuba’s unique experience now provides one of the clearest and most advanced examples of how we can sustainably feed the world’s expanding cities. </p>
<h2>The US opening: threat or opportunity?</h2>
<p>But Cuba’s urban and peri-urban agroecology model may face a threat from the move towards normalisation of economic relations between the US and Cuba. </p>
<p>US companies are already lining up to export agricultural chemicals and processed foods to Cuba. Soon foreign investors may begin to arrive in search of opportunities for export agriculture. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/81509/original/image-20150513-5781-13zo2ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Supermarkets and imported food could replace fresh local food markets.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/14020964@N02/8619852163/in/photolist-bnc4aX-aHdMyP-bmH9g8-bErRSM-e9Uh4s-e9NABZ-iDE3R-iDE3S-e98jyN-e8GZJK-e9UgoW-e9UgyL-bjLTJ4-smYsyn-seNx7h-rZDiMM-hUoo15-hUo4ma-hUp4X6-aHdVYR-aHdP7D-aHdS7D-aHdRkX-aHdQ2F-dUjroA-aHe2Qn-aHdYUT-aHdXzT-aHdU8B-aHe1zk-aHdTsa">lezumbalaberenjena/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Cheaper imports, new finance and the development of the agricultural export trade would change the economics of Cuban food production. It would create pressure for changes in farming methods, land use and distribution, and consumption patterns. The drastic impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement on <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/11/mexican-farmers-agricultural-subsidies_n_2457845.html">Mexican smallholder farmers</a> comes to mind. </p>
<p>However, two factors protect the Cuban urban agriculture model. </p>
<p>The first is that it has become well-established. Farmers understand and have committed to agroecological principles, at least in urban and peri-urban zones. On the government side, the model has proven it can achieve development priorities and is enshrined in policy. </p>
<p>The second positive is that the international opening will be gradual. At the conference in April, representatives of Cuban agricultural export enterprises did not appear to be much concerned. One of them, asked what difference it would make to their plans, typified the attitude: “No we haven’t been planning anything, we don’t know, we’ll wait to see what happens”. </p>
<p>Full normalisation of Cuban-US economic relations needs the approval of the US Congress and will not happen overnight. The limited US changes introduced so far have encouraged links with US cooperatives and partners for sustainable agriculture, which could strengthen the agroecological model. This slow and evolutionary response may be the most appropriate for now. </p>
<p>But eventually, both farmers and the Cuban government will need to work out how to resist international market pressures. Otherwise the unique, productive model of Cuban urban and peri-urban agriculture may disappear.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/40949/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julia Wright has received funding from various donors for public research on issues relating to sustainable agriculture, including the UK Department for International Development, Oxfam, the European Union, Action Aid and the Soil Association.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emily Morris does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Farms in the cities and suburbs produce half of Cuba's vegetables. But warming relations with the US could put this unique, productive system at risk.Julia Wright, Senior Research Fellow, Agroecological Futures, Coventry UniversityEmily Morris, Research Associate, Institute of the Americas, UCL, UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/394622015-04-03T10:13:04Z2015-04-03T10:13:04ZWhy all cities should have a Department of Food<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76674/original/image-20150331-1229-1dwu2h5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Food to table, Chicago style. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/crfsproject/6964501008/in/photolist-bBqTvA-9Zv5TX-83HaAM-9ZxXyA-9ZxXXJ-aArKeJ-aAp2wg-aAp2pT-aArKHu-aAp2kR-aArKph-aAp2yZ-aArKtS-aArKjy-aArKzN-aArKyh-aArKhw-aAp2az-aAp2CK-aAp2h4-d9GCMk-8c9dnX-2NdiVd-7krcgU-8x5S8g-87KVs9-94ejk1-4cFhFW-cvhhDY-csUpZG-csUfxY-csUge9-csUkeh-csUjKL-csU6Mu-csU2pQ-csUqFu-csUnKA-csUhnC-csUeYy-csUto7-csUaDS-csU7sm-csUdQy-csU4Vf-csUy3y-csUd5L-csU3hQ-csUbDL-csU6cq">crfsproject</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the United States, we live in a nation where hunger and obesity go hand in hand. More than 17 million US households struggle to put food on the table, and when they do, it’s often high in fat and sugar because healthy options are scarce in low-income neighborhoods. </p>
<p>These problems are well known. They’re frequently in the news. But what’s missing from the conversation is a discussion of how they came to be.</p>
<p>The dearth of grocery stores and other sources of fresh food in underserved communities is not a product of happenstance, but the result, in part, of poor urban and regional planning.</p>
<p>More than 38,000 local governments — counties, cities, villages, towns and townships — exist in the United States, and their operations impact the lives of more than 319 million Americans on a daily basis. These entities are entrusted with a broad set of responsibilities: They ensure public safety; they regulate economic activity; they have departments that deliver water, education, transportation, green space (parks) and social services.</p>
<p>Yet, local governments pay little systemic attention to the one resource most essential for all Americans’ well-being: food. </p>
<h2>Local food policy</h2>
<p>In a 2014 survey of planners and other elected officials who are members of the <a href="https://www.planning.org/">American Planning Association</a>, the University at Buffalo and partners found abysmally low levels of engagement by local governments in the realm of food. Just 13 percent of 1,169 respondents working for these governments named food systems planning as a significant priority in their work. A full 50 percent said their engagement was non-existent or minimal.</p>
<p>This disturbing lapse contributes to a bevy of food-related problems, from disparities in food access among consumers to financial struggles among farmers, many of whom hold two jobs to make ends meet.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76678/original/image-20150331-1229-yva2x1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76678/original/image-20150331-1229-yva2x1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Michigan Municipal League estimates there are over 300 farmers markets in the state now.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/michigancommunities/14993659057/in/photolist-oQWqt4-oXUiUA-cfdCeL-gEjzHH-8ZVt5S-75KA99-8CppcT-oXPbhR-bYDdvh-9MSfiS-2YEGmr-5vfQMu-4WNDJc-93gMAA-5vfQG5-pm5nCu-nHRq76-oUhUnH-5FMVxp-nrDTzb-2xP4oX-bMRQkV-oXMrfJ-3oSuDg-6DbGmo-dYdDKg-6k2V3i-p8dhbo-6pHoF2-cp1mXd-oXN3Bn-cfdzv9-2EaprY-byx3Ad-pfve3u-pbhC5F-dYdDDT-oSRCbS-4MZrFs-oRx2Wf-pfvdNb-8ZVtb1-pbNW4R-oQTwmy-66mPJJ-a4U96N-8gxAiJ-cE4zcw-doGygB-doGGk3">Michigan Municipal League</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<p>It doesn’t have to be that way. Last month, a project launched to help eight communities across the US to connect family farmers to consumers who lack access to healthy food. Called <a href="http://growingfoodconnections.org/">Growing Food Connections</a>, it’s a federally funded project I lead along with the American Farmland Trust and other partners. The targeted regions will be urban and rural, ranging from the Kansas City metro area to two sparsely populated areas of New Mexico. Local governments will play an important role in each.</p>
<p>The project will do research around how local governments can remove public policy barriers to locally grown food and foster connections between family farmers and underserved community residents. We plan to provide policy recommendations to improve local food security by encouraging sustainable and economically viable food production. </p>
<h2>Blocking farmers markets?</h2>
<p>But making improvements in eight forward-thinking communities is not enough. </p>
<p>Across the country, we need to incorporate food into the way we plan and organize the places we live. For this, we need officials in local government who are dedicated full-time to addressing the problem.</p>
<p>That’s because the food system is complicated: It includes physical components such as land for farming; facilities for storage, butchering and retail; and transportation networks for distributing food. It also includes natural resources such as soil, water, sunshine and pollinators, and human resources like entrepreneurs and a trained workforce of farmers, farmworkers, butchers, processors and chefs. </p>
<p>Today, in many communities, this infrastructure is in a state of disrepair. Zoning codes that dictate where food businesses can locate are often incredibly antiquated, some dating back to the 1950s. Some prohibit people from growing food on their own front yards. Others ban farmers’ markets in residential neighborhoods, making it difficult for people without cars to reach healthy food destinations. Many additional problems persist.</p>
<h1>Urban planners and food</h1>
<p>So how would food systems planners in local government address these concerns?</p>
<p>They would perform a pulse-taking function, tracking problems as well as missed opportunities. They would ensure that land use and transportation plans protect assets such as farmland. They would help bring amenities like farmers’ markets and community gardens to neighborhoods that need them. They would rewrite outdated zoning codes. They would assist in creating stronger regional supply chains of farmers, processors, distributors and consumers.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76677/original/image-20150331-1259-gxh4df.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76677/original/image-20150331-1259-gxh4df.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Seattle’s P-Patch is one of the forward-looking city policies aimed at encouraging municipal gardening.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/viriyincy/4380421329/in/photolist-frVP3Q-pceim6-6nVFSZ-6nZRQ1-6nZRm1-6nZSKG-6nVHc4-6nZTbw-6nVHvR-93jpAc-dNkujj-4Fp21-dNeURv-4FoYv-7F5NDF-dNkuam-dNeUUR-dNkunL-dNeUJv-bExsnW">Oran Viriyincy</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
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<p>Baltimore, Maryland and Seattle, Washington are cities where thoughtful planning is already taking place. Both have staff focused on developing purposeful food policy. Both also have food policy councils — advisory groups of committed, volunteer residents — who advocate for improvements.</p>
<p>This allocation of resources has paid dividends. In Seattle, the city runs <a href="http://www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/ppatch/">P-Patch</a>, one of the largest municipal community gardening programs in the country. The city provides staff and financial support for the project, which enabled residents to grow food and donate 29,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables to food banks and programs in 2014.</p>
<p>Recognizing the value, Seattle’s voters included US$2 million in a 2008 Parks and Green Spaces Levy for P-Patch community garden development, and the city’s comprehensive plan encourages community gardens as a land use.</p>
<h2>Bringing food production back</h2>
<p>One great irony is that local government agencies, such as departments of planning and economic development, have continually shaped communities’ food infrastructure, albeit with little awareness that they are doing so.</p>
<p>Local governments create land use plans that place prime farmland in the path of development. They regulate access to water for food growers. They tax food businesses. They enforce outdated zoning codes. And they do it all with little or no systemic understanding of their communities’ food infrastructure — and certainly with no departments of food.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76676/original/image-20150331-1240-1o9hkgk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76676/original/image-20150331-1240-1o9hkgk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
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<span class="caption">Earthworks Urban Farm in Detroit.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/detroitunspun/5167842154">detroitunspun</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
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<p>These modern failures of local planning have precedent in the City Beautiful movement of the early 1900s. During that era, planners designed cities for grandeur rather than quotidian functions such as growing and harvesting food.</p>
<p>A preoccupation with auto-centric development further degraded food infrastructure from the mid-century onwards. In 1965, for example, the city of Buffalo, New York sold the century-old Washington Market, where vendors hawked poultry, dairy, fruits and vegetables from 400 stalls, to a bank. The buyer razed the market to create a parking lot that remains there today. </p>
<p>Fortunately for Buffalo, city officials and planners are now supporting grassroots efforts to rebuild food infrastructure through innovative public policy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/39462/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samina Raja receives funding from The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Competitive Grant no. 2012-68004-19894 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.</span></em></p>Urban and regional planners need to play a bigger role in bringing healthy food to cities and towns. One research project aims to change that.Samina Raja, Associate Professor Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University at Buffalo, The State University of New YorkLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/353752014-12-25T19:40:22Z2014-12-25T19:40:22ZCut-price 'ugly' supermarket food won't reduce waste – here's why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67443/original/image-20141217-19897-7jvz8q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;rect=486%2C665%2C3331%2C1854&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">They all taste the same once they&#39;re mashed.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lucie Lang/Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The battle to reduce food waste and increase access to nutritious food just got a whole lot cheaper and uglier in Australia. </p>
<p>In early December, Woolworths launched its <a href="http://www2.woolworthsonline.com.au/shop/page/the-odd-bunch">“odd bunch”</a> campaign, becoming the latest retailer to offer consumers “ugly” food at discount prices. </p>
<p>Mainstream food outlets tell us that fruit and vegetables are ugly when they are blemished, misshapen (perhaps with an extra appendage or two), or otherwise fail to meet their usual standards. </p>
<p>Ugly food is marketed as a way to reduce food waste. But selling it cheap won’t help, because it doesn’t address the underlying issue: that we’re buying too much food.</p>
<h2>Wasting away</h2>
<p>Australian households throw out <a href="http://www.tai.org.au/node/1580;%20http://www.foodwise.com.au/foodwaste/food-waste-fast-facts/">up to A$8 billion worth of food</a> each year. The environmental impacts range from wasted water and fertiliser, to significant methane emissions from rotting food in rubbish tips.</p>
<p>In affluent nations like Australia, most wasted food has already been bought and brought home (so-called “<a href="http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/365/1554/3065.full.pdf+html">post-consumer food waste</a>”). Developed countries have largely eradicated the problems that lead to food wastage in poorer countries, such as pest infestation and inadequate storage or transportion. Yet rates of food waste seem to be similar everywhere, equating to about <a href="http://www.unep.org/wed/2013/quickfacts/">a third of the food produced</a>.</p>
<p>Research shows that <a href="http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.nsw.gov.au/portals/0/docs/11339FWABenchmarkstudy.pdf">72% of Australians</a> feel guilty when they waste food, yet still do it. Over the past decade numerous initiatives have appeared, courtesy of charities such as <a href="http://secondbite.org/">SecondBite</a>, <a href="http://www.ozharvest.org/">Ozharvest</a>, and <a href="https://food-rescue.commsatwork.org/yellow-van-food-rescue">The Yellow Van</a>, which redistribute food to those in need, as well as consumer awareness campaigns such as <a href="http://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/">Love Food Hate Waste</a> and <a href="http://www.foodwise.com.au/">FoodWise</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67734/original/image-20141218-31028-303kj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=1000&amp;fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/67734/original/image-20141218-31028-303kj2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip"></a>
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<span class="caption">Even ugly carrots are beautiful to someone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Katharine Shilcott/flickr.com</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<h2>Supermarket swoop</h2>
<p>By offering discounted imperfect food, retailers are now positioning themselves as part of this broader effort to cut food waste.</p>
<p>Woolworths’ “Odd Bunch” campaign and Harris Farm Market’s “<a href="http://www.harrisfarm.com.au/">Imperfect Picks</a>” are part of a worldwide trend started by French supermarket Intermarché’s “<a href="http://itm.marcelww.com/inglorious/">Inglorious</a>” initiative, launched earlier this year. Tied to the European Union’s year against food waste, Intermarché’s campaign aimed to “rehabilitate and glorify” ugly food. It led to a <a href="http://itm.marcelww.com/inglorious/">24% increase</a> in store traffic and attracted global attention.</p>
<p>Advertisements show Intermarché’s inglorious fruit and vegetables in all their wayward glory, accompanied by descriptions such as “<a href="http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/intermarche_grotesque_apple?size=original">grotesque apple</a>”, “<a href="http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/intermarche_ridiculous_potato">ridiculous potato</a>”, “<a href="http://www.adforum.com/creative-work/ad/player/34500158">hideous orange</a>”, “<a href="http://www.adforum.com/creative-work/ad/player/34499825">disfigured eggplant</a>” and “<a href="http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/intermarche_failed_lemon">failed lemon</a>”. </p>
<p>Alongside the tongue-in-cheek descriptions are reminders that under these deformed exteriors lies fresh, nutritious, tasty food, such as “a grotesque apple keeps the doctor away as well”. </p>
<p>The undesirable natural packaging of inglorious foods is presented as beneficial to consumers because they are 30% cheaper than their more aesthetically pleasing counterparts. But this message also reinforces the notion that “ugly” (even if only skin-deep) equals “cheap” when it comes to food.</p>
<h2>Sell it cheap, waste it anyway</h2>
<p>In affluent countries like France and Australia, access to cheaper food doesn’t mean less household food waste. What’s more, charging lower prices for ugly fruit and vegetables also neglects the fact that the same labour is required to produce and harvest crops, regardless of their appearance. Thus ugly food helps to perpetuate a food system that undervalues food, in which consumers routinely buy too much and throw away the leftovers. </p>
<p>My <a href="http://scan.net.au/scn/journal/vol11number1/Bethaney-Turner.html">research</a> has investigated the food waste behaviours of consumers of mainstream supermarkets and alternative food networks such as community gardens and farmers’ markets. The <a href="http://pubs.e-contentmanagement.com/doi/abs/10.5172/rsj.2014.4418">results suggest</a> that people who grow some of their own food or talk directly to producers go to great lengths to prevent food waste. These consumers speak of the time, effort and care that underpins food production, and are motivated to avoid waste out of respect for the food itself as well as its producer. </p>
<p>This attitude values food not in terms of its appearance or cost, but as a source of nutrition and pleasure painstakingly produced by a combination of factors, both human and non-human (such as water, weather and soil nutrients).</p>
<p>Cheaper food — ugly or not — is not really the way to encourage people to rethink and reduce our wasteful behaviours. Ugly food should be sold and eaten, not wasted. It should be priced fairly. But we must also learn to respect and value our food beyond its appearance and price. Only by promoting ethical and sustainable practices will we really get a grip on the problem of food waste.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35375/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bethaney Turner receives funding from ACT Health.</span></em></p>The battle to reduce food waste and increase access to nutritious food just got a whole lot cheaper and uglier in Australia. In early December, Woolworths launched its “odd bunch” campaign, becoming the…Bethaney Turner, Assistant Professor in International Studies, University of CanberraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/292342014-07-17T17:21:12Z2014-07-17T17:21:12ZThe only way is up, as new tech sheds light on the future of food<p>The challenges of growing enough food to feed the world have grown more severe in the 21st century. We need to feed more people with limited agricultural land and resources. We need to make better use of land, light and logistics for an increasingly urban population. And we need to incorporate zero-waste and low-energy technologies into the task of food production. What can achieve the intensification of food supply we require, but in a way that is also sustainable and less harmful to the environment? </p>
<p>There is an urgent need to develop new methods for sustainable food production. This includes a greater emphasis on urban agriculture such as vertical farming which, properly designed and planned, could provide the sustainable means to improve food supply we need. Ideally, urban agriculture fits neatly alongside or within existing buildings in a self-contained and sustainable manner without competing for resources. Such urban plots can be at ground level or on rooftops. They can use greenhouses in order to take advantage of the sun’s energy, or grow indoors with the help of artificial lights.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.verticalfarm.com/">Vertical Farming</a> is promising because it requires no soil, and can save space and energy – and improve crop yield. It takes advantage of the vertical space of city buildings rather than turning over wide expanses of land to agriculture and uses advanced greenhouse technology: <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/hydroponics-grow-salad-tunnels-london-underground">hydroponics</a> or <a href="http://aerofarms.com/why/comparison/">aeroponics</a>, and environmental controls that regulate temperature, humidity and light to produce vegetables, fruits and other crops year-round. </p>
<p>In large cities such as New York, Chicago, Tokyo and Singapore, these ideas are taking root. Singapore has taken local urban farming to a high level – <a href="http://www.diplomaticourier.com/news/topics/environment/2143-vertical-farming-powering-urban-food-sources">Skygreens</a> has built the world’s first commercial vertical farm in large three-storey greenhouses, providing a sustainable source of fresh vegetables. </p>
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<h2>The cost of growing</h2>
<p>Vertical farming’s biggest limitation is energy consumption. Considerable energy is required to power a closed, indoor greenhouse facility’s artificial lighting, heating and cooling, and hydroponic or aeroponic growing systems. The amount of energy required per unit of product is an important factor for ensuring not only that the farm is sustainable, but that it is economically viable. Recently, <a href="http://www.agriculturesolar.com/3b_solar_greenhouses_farming.html">more and more studies</a> have focused on pairing solar panels and wind turbines with greenhouses to provide self-generated renewable electricity on-site. </p>
<p>But the single technology that will be key to making vertical farms possible is lighting. New <a href="http://cleantechnica.com/2014/05/10/philips-and-green-sense-partner-for-led-farming-rd/">LED light technology</a> is the key that makes it possible to build vertically integrated farms. This kind of artificial light has an extremely high photoelectric conversion efficiency, consuming only one eighth the power of incandescent lamp, half of the power of fluorescent lamp, and using a lower supply voltage (6-24V) that makes it safer to work with and reduces transmission losses. </p>
<p>They’re also physically small, have a long service life, lower power consumption, generate less heat, and can produce light of varying intensity. Because it produces less heat, the light can be moved closer to the plants. This increases efficiency, not just in terms of energy use but by allowing layers of growing plants to be more densely packed, making more efficient use of space. </p>
<p>LED lights can be tuned to emit only a narrow wavelength of light, they can be combined to create perfect lighting that provide light on the ideal spectrum for a plant’s growth. Evidence is emerging that specific wavelengths of light <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1744-7348.2010.00438.x/abstract">have distinct effects</a> on crop yield, quality, and even pest and disease resistance. </p>
<p>There is potential for these multifunctional techno-greenhouses built around LED grow lights to increase the quality of the food we eat and the amount that we can grow with the same land and resources: the very 21st-century problems we now face – and through technology are getting closer to solving.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29234/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chungui Lu receives funding from the UK Technology Strategy Board to work on developing LED lighting for horticultural crops.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erik Murchie receives funding from the UK Technology Strategy Board to work on developing LED lighting for horticultural crops.</span></em></p>The challenges of growing enough food to feed the world have grown more severe in the 21st century. We need to feed more people with limited agricultural land and resources. We need to make better use…Chungui Lu, Assistant Professor in Systems Biology, University of NottinghamErik Murchie, Associate Professor of Crop Science, University of NottinghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/270902014-05-23T05:08:14Z2014-05-23T05:08:14ZGreen your garden, help the environment and lower your bills<p>The Chelsea Flower Show is in full bloom. The UK’s annual botanical extravaganza celebrates all aspects of horticulture and is an important venue for watching emerging trends in the gardening world. But how can we maximise the green spaces we have to hand and also benefit the environment?</p>
<p>In the UK, domestic gardens represent 20-25% of a city’s area and <a href="http://www.rhs.org.uk/science/pdf/climate-and-sustainability/urban-greening/gardening-matters-urban-greening">the vast majority of urban residents</a> have access to one. What we grow in these green spaces and –- importantly – how they are managed, could have a significant environmental impact within our cities.</p>
<h2>Plant services</h2>
<p>There are a number of ways that plants and gardens provide positive and negative “services”. For example, scientists are confident that plants provide localised cooling, decrease the risk of flooding and support biodiversity. They are also confident about the risks and the extent of potential damage from using <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1618866712000076">peat, chemicals and fertilisers</a> in plant management. It is therefore critical that we use this knowledge to maximise the positive impact of our green spaces.</p>
<p>Much as different management practices have a smaller or greater environmental impact, plants themselves can differ a huge amount in the different benefits (and costs) that they entail and provide. </p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49283/original/42btnq4b-1400768946.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=237&amp;fit=clip">
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<span class="caption">Lamb’s Ear.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Jean-Pol_GRANDMONT">Jean-Pol Grandmont</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>In a <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360132312002132">recent study</a> focusing on the cooling service provided by green roofs, our Royal Horticultural Society science team found that broad-leaved plants cooled their own and surrounding surfaces better than the traditionally used succulent plants. This is because the broad and thin-leaved plants use and lose more water than thicker-leaved succulents, cooling better through the process of transpiration. In our outdoor experiments, on a hot sunny summer day this led to broad-leaved Stachys byzantina (Lamb’s Ear) cooling the soil (and so potentially a roof surface if planted there) by a huge 12°C more than a covering of succulent Sedum. </p>
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<span class="caption">Tubby succulents.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ballookey/7429615582/">Ballookey</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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<p>Plants can capture and temporarily hold pollution particles from the air (such as from fuel burning and vehicular emissions); they can also take up gaseous pollutants like nitrogen dioxide and sulphur dioxide. Research suggests that plants with complex leaf structures (including rough, hairy leaves) are likely to be capturing more pollutants across the range of particle sizes. </p>
<p>Conifers such as Leylands and pines have been shown to accumulate more particles (in the size ranges greater than 2.5μm) on their surfaces than broad-leaved tree species such as poplars, maples or whitebeams. But both broad-leaved and conifer species have been shown to accumulate well the finest particles (less than 1μm), potentially most <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749104001228">detrimental to human health</a>.</p>
<p>So, growing longer-life, perennial plants such as trees and shrubs in our gardens will help decrease our carbon impact, enabling longer-term carbon storage in the plants and the soil.</p>
<h2>Four ways to ‘green up’ your garden</h2>
<p>There are some simple and effective steps you can take in your own garden to maximise the positive environmental contribution of your green spaces, decrease the risk of surface flooding, insulate your house using vegetation and support biodiversity.</p>
<p><strong>Plant climbers and wall shrubs</strong></p>
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<span class="caption">Insulating ivy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://pixabay.com/en/ivy-plant-nature-wall-leaves-65311/">Werner Brigitte</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>Most of us have walls and fences that have space for a climber or wall shrub. Using these leafy coverings helps insulate homes in winter (reducing heating bills) and keeps them cooler in summer. You can even go up the wall with plants by installing green-wall planting systems. </p>
<p><strong>Grow plants for wildlife</strong></p>
<p>When it comes to encouraging wildlife, it’s a case of the more plants the better. Aim to grow as many different types of plant as you can, including natives, and provide as much cover as possible. This should help ensure that you provide food and shelter at most times of year.</p>
<p><strong>Use permeable paving</strong></p>
<p>Think carefully before you pave over your front garden. Where paving is necessary, keep the area as small as possible and use permeable materials (planning permission is required for non-permeable materials). These measures allow the rainwater to soak into the soil, rather than causing flooding.</p>
<p><strong>Install green roofs</strong></p>
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<span class="caption">Cool roofing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ideonexus/4202003130/sizes/l/in/photostream/">Ryan Somma</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>Any birds-eye view of a town or city reveals that roofs cover a substantial area. It is possible to turn these barren spaces into planted surfaces by installing a green roof. These range from plant mats rolled out over a prepared base to flowery coverings grown in deeper soil – just make sure your roof can take the weight. Worth considering on your new shed or an extension, green roofs help reduce flooding and cool the surrounding surfaces and air.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/27090/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tijana Blanusa is a Senior Horticultural Scientist for the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>The Royal Horticultural Society hosts the Chelsea Flower Show.</span></em></p>The Chelsea Flower Show is in full bloom. The UK’s annual botanical extravaganza celebrates all aspects of horticulture and is an important venue for watching emerging trends in the gardening world. But…Tijana Blanusa, RHS Fellow, University of ReadingLeigh Hunt, Principal Horticultural Advisor, Royal Horticultural SocietyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/240782014-03-14T06:15:03Z2014-03-14T06:15:03ZPlanting forests across Beijing could help combat pollution<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/43834/original/hs225qtp-1394705955.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Forbidden forest to replace the Forbidden City?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/myheimu/7391606650/">myheimu</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Smog has become an unfortunate feature of Chinese city skylines. Air pollution has gotten so bad in recent years that <a href="https://theconversation.com/chinese-state-and-citizens-must-battle-airpocalypse-together-23940">citizens have rallied</a> and the government has declared a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/05/china-pollution-economic-reform-growth-target">war upon it</a>. One weapon in their arsenal is to plant an army of trees that will help neutralise pollution particles in the air.</p>
<p>Beijing, the seat of the government, is on China’s industrial east coast and has been affected as much as the next city by polluted air. Faced with the challenge, the local Beijing government initiated a program in 2012 that will invest a total of 30 billion RMB (US$4.7 billion) to construct 67,000 hectares of trees around Beijing in the next few years. That’s the equivalent of two hundred Central Parks, spread across the city.</p>
<h2>Pollution reducers</h2>
<p>Adopting this unconventional control measure on such a large scale is a bold move for the local government in Beijing. But, studies have shown that <a href="http://www.ncufc.org/uploads/nowak_trees.pdf">trees can reduce smog particles in the air</a> both directly and indirectly. To directly reduce them, tree canopies can intercept particles already existing in the air. Indirectly, trees can lower air temperatures through providing shade and evapotranspiration (when water is taken up into the atmosphere off and through vegetation). </p>
<p>The cooling effect this has reduces the need for energy-using fans and air conditioners, which further lowers emissions. Also, the rates of photochemical reactions in the urban atmosphere are slowed down by the lowered air temperature and less secondary air pollutants are produced.</p>
<p>The species of trees to use and where to plant more than 100 million of them can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of this control measure in Beijing. Trees can actually become a source of air pollution too. Some tree species are high <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1352231097001763">emitters of biogenic volatile organic compounds</a>. These react with nitrous oxides and other chemicals in the air to form ozone and secondary organic aerosols, which are tiny “tar balls” found to have bad health effects. Ozone is the main component of urban smog and secondary organic aerosols are also a source. </p>
<p>It has <a href="http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/324/1223/335">even been suggested</a> that more vegetation in urban environments could reduce the dispersion of smog particles from urban areas. Urban forests can potentially decrease the strength of convective mixing – where air pollutants are lofted up and away from the surface, taking them out of contact with people. The “urban boundary layer” of the urban atmosphere is also lowered, trapping heat and pollutants closer to the the earth’s surface. So it’s important that the right trees are planted.</p>
<h2>Mixed results</h2>
<p>Supported by the National Geographic Air and Water Conservation Fund, my group is currently studying just how effective urban forests could be in Beijing. The initial results from our study are mixed. Trees planted in the last two years can reduce pollution particles from Beijing’s air, but the magnitude of removal is far lower than the government would hope.</p>
<p>Six tree species that have been used extensively in planting across the city are high emitters of the potentially problematic biogenic volatile organic compounds, which could add to problems down the line. Currently we are still in the process of modelling what the long-term effects will be once all the trees have been planted and matured. This means it’s too early to say what the final impacts of trees are on smog particles in Beijing. </p>
<p>But, based on a <a href="http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/pubs/43676">study of ten US cities</a>, urban trees did remove smog particles and improve the air quality of those cities by 0.05%-0.24%. Based on this, the improvement would be higher in Beijing due to the higher concentration of smog particles, though the reduction is unlikely to be as significant as hoped for by the government.</p>
<p>So, what is the message for other cities? Making cities greener by planting urban forests should not be treated as a stand-alone air pollution control measure. In fact, measures that are more effective but also more painful to implement should be giving the priority, such as reducing the use of cars. </p>
<p>Urban forests can play an important role in making cities nicer places to live and they do have cooling, pollution-reducing effects. But, it’s important to remember that it is our growing use of cars and industrial emissions that are the source of the smog; sadly no amount of trees can counteract this.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/24078/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jun Yang receives funding from National Geographic Air and Water Conservation Fund</span></em></p>Smog has become an unfortunate feature of Chinese city skylines. Air pollution has gotten so bad in recent years that citizens have rallied and the government has declared a war upon it. One weapon in…Jun Yang, Associate Professor, Center for Earth System Science, Tsinghua UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/127982013-05-03T04:11:14Z2013-05-03T04:11:14ZGrowing out versus filling in: how about we all grow up?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/22286/original/gcymfdn5-1365556365.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=496&amp;fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The arguments for urban densification and urban sprawl both have merit and neither is absolutely right.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr/t3rmin4t0r</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s a debate that’s been raging for decades and dominates academic and popular urban planning discourse: urban sprawl versus urban densification. Is it better to increase density or to expand at the edges? Each camp has its fervent supporters and truckloads of data to back themselves.</p>
<p>The enduring nature of the debate suggests that we’ve reached a stalemate that is unlikely to be broken by proponents of either side simply shouting louder.</p>
<p>This is not a simple black and white argument, and there are often unacknowledged trade-offs that arise when <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-grass-isnt-greener-in-the-outer-burbs-12532">one stance</a> is pitched against <a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-sprawl-isnt-to-blame-unsustainable-cities-are-the-product-of-growth-fetish-12818">the other</a>.</p>
<h2>Food production</h2>
<p>Concern about the loss of traditional farmland for urban development has been growing in recent times in Australia. Media and academia alike have warned of a threat to food security as cities rely increasingly on mass-produced agricultural products from distant Australian and international producers. Concern over <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_miles">food miles</a> has led many commentators to <a href="https://theconversation.com/paving-our-market-gardens-choosing-suburbs-over-food-4419">call for greater protection</a> of peri-urban agricultural land.</p>
<p>Simultaneously there are calls for the growth of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_agriculture">urban agriculture</a>. Food produced within the urban matrix <a href="https://theconversation.com/grow-your-own-making-australian-cities-more-food-secure-8021">can occur</a> in <a href="https://theconversation.com/urban-farming-in-detroit-sowing-seeds-of-hope-in-the-motor-city-10674">high density urban contexts</a>, but it’s perhaps most effective in low-density suburban areas where backyards offer ample space. Designing cities to maximise urban agriculture may therefore have the perverse outcome of the expansion of city boundaries into traditional farmland.</p>
<h2>Human health and well-being</h2>
<p>The recent focus on neighbourhood design and its role in supporting health and well-being has also made its way into <a href="http://www.heartfoundation.org.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/creating-healthy-neighbourhoods.pdf">the debate about density</a>. For example, low density arrangements usually provide better access to nature through the greater availability of (public and private) green space. Green space is important for exercise and social interaction, while contact with nature more broadly can <a href="http://theconversation.com/what-is-green-space-worth-4703">improve mental well-being and provide psychological restoration</a>.</p>
<p>However, due to their distance from the city centre, low density suburbs can be isolating. They often lack services and involve long commuting times; all of which have negative impacts on health (for example increasing sedentary behaviour). Although high density neighbourhoods can address many of these issues, they also have their own problems: noise and air pollution, traffic congestion, fear of crime and a deficit of green open space. In short, there is no right or wrong answer, since different aspects of health and well-being are accommodated more easily by high and low density urban arrangements.</p>
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<span class="caption">Perth as viewed from NASA’s International Space Station.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr/NASA</span></span>
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<h2>Biodiversity conservation</h2>
<p>As cities expand into the surrounding peri-urban landscape, swathes of native vegetation can been lost. Classic examples in Australia include Sydney’s Cumberland Plain Woodland (9% of the original extent remaining) and the Volcanic Plains Grasslands outside Melbourne (less than 1% remaining). Green open spaces such as parks, reserves, and riparian corridors and gardens are key to <a href="http://www.intertropi.ufam.edu.br/docs/parques_urbanos_godard_et_al_2010.pdf">promoting biodiversity within cities</a>. Promoting these spaces in urban planning may lead to a larger urban footprint and thus have both positive and negative impacts on biodiversity, depending on the spatial scale and conservation objectives concerned.</p>
<h2>Energy efficiency</h2>
<p>Cities with low density housing and high levels of car dependency are criticised for being energy intensive. Arguments are therefore often made for cities to be as compact as possible. </p>
<p>Maximising public transport connectivity and minimising commuting time are important. However, the energy consumed by a city is far more complex than whether it is characterised by high or low density urban form. </p>
<p>The design of suburbs, efficiency of building stocks, use of appliances and technologies, and how the daily lives of citizens are organised also play a significant role. Therefore, increasing density alone does not guarantee improved energy efficiency.</p>
<h2>Moving on from the current debate</h2>
<p>The dichotomy between urban sprawl and urban densification is false. More worryingly, it hinders our ability to make decisions for creating sustainable, healthy and equitable cities of the future.</p>
<p>Cities are highly complex and multifaceted socio-ecological systems, and an equally sophisticated decision-making framework is required to plan their future.</p>
<p>Ultimately, we need to move past the tired debate about one urban form versus another. A new discussion based on desired end states for urban sustainability must be started. </p>
<p>Rather than a one-size-fits all solution, special attention should be given to the spatial and unique requirements of the people, species, and ecosystems that comprise cities. With this starting point, we can transcend the current stalemate to ensure our cities are planned and designed to meet the sustainability challenges of the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/12798/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chris Ives receives funding from the Australian Government (via the National Environmental Research Program) and the Australian Research Council (as part of the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cecily Maller receives funding from the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) and has previously been funded by RMIT University&#39;s Global Cities Research Institute.</span></em></p>It’s a debate that’s been raging for decades and dominates academic and popular urban planning discourse: urban sprawl versus urban densification. Is it better to increase density or to expand at the edges…Chris Ives, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, RMIT UniversityCecily Maller, Senior Research Fellow, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.